title: Concerns about infertility risks among pediatric oncology patients and their parents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Given pediatric cancer patients are living into adulthood, parents and patients need to be informed about fertility-related side effects of their particular treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed 97 parents of pediatric patients of all ages as well as 37 adolescent patients of 14 years or older who were presented for care at the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH) at the Stanford University Medical Center. We estimated the potential infertility risk (low, intermediate, and high) based on the child's treatment regimen.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In contrast to our hypothesis, the majority of parents in all three risk categories were concerned about fertility-related side effects of cancer treatment. Many parents with children at low risk were concerned (58.3%) whereas not all parents with children at intermediate or high risk were concerned, 61.5% and 73.3% respectively, P = 0.43. Indeed, over 50% of all parents were erroneously concerned that cancer therapies cause DNA damage to their child's eggs (or sperm). Only 29.9% of parents were satisfied with the amount of information received. Similar patterns were seen among the adolescent patient sample.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents of pediatric cancer patients and teenage patients have concerns about fertility-related side effects regardless of treatment received. Targeted education about infertility risk before and after treatment can address these gaps.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: B Elizabeth
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Oosterhuis
authors.forename: Tress
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Goodwin
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kiernan
authors.forename: Melissa M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.forename: Gary V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Dahl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors