title: Special issues in fertility preservation for gynecologic malignancies.
abstract: Gynecologic malignancies account for 1,09 million new cancer cases worldwide consisting of about 12% of tumors affecting female population. About 10% of all female cancer survivors are younger than 40 years of age. Since cancers affecting female genital organs are usually treated by radical surgery, chemotherapy or chemoradiation approaches that induce permanent damage of reproductive functions, the development of strategies for fertility preservation represent one of the most important goals for gynecologic oncology. In this scenario, the newly defined oncofertility discipline acquires increasing interest, offering patients maximal chances to make an adequate decision about future fertility, based on their oncologic diagnosis and prognosis. However, the majority of physicians do not pay particular attention to these issues, even if impressive progresses have been made in this field in the last decades. Possibly, it is due to the lack of strong evidences from clinical trials without an adequate number of cases to establish safety and efficacy of these procedures. In this review we will discuss the most recently debated options for fertility preservation in gynecologic oncology, highlighting issues and controversies related to oncofertility.
authors.affiliation: European Institute of Oncology "IEO", Via Giuseppe Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy; University of Rome "Sapienza", Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: federica.tomao@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tomao
authors.affiliation: European Institute of Oncology "IEO", Via Giuseppe Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Fedro
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Peccatori
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute "CRO", Via Franco Gallini 2, 33081 Aviano PD, Italy.
authors.forename: Lino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Del Pup
authors.affiliation: European Institute of Oncology "IEO", Via Giuseppe Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Dorella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Franchi
authors.affiliation: European Institute of Oncology "IEO", Via Giuseppe Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Vanna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zanagnolo
authors.affiliation: University of Rome "Sapienza", Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierluigi Benedetti
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Panici
authors.affiliation: European Institute of Oncology "IEO", Via Giuseppe Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicoletta
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Colombo
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D059247:Fertility Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000209:etiology; D011379:Prognosis
keywords: Borderline ovarian tumor; Cervical cancer; Endometrial cancer; Fertility sparing; Malignant ovarian germ cell tumors; Ovarian cancer; Uterus transplantation