Fertility preservation for women with breast cancer: Current trends and best time-points to attempt pregnancy

Fertility preservation has gained increased acceptance, and many reproductive medicine centers have established programs for this service. A recent report, which collected data from all Nordic university hospitals that had initiated programs for fertility preservation (N = 14), found that breast cancer is the most common diagnosis among women who underwent procedures aimed at fertility preservation in Scandinavian countries (1). This Nordic survey also collected data over a twenty-year period that revealed that ovarian tissue cryopreservation has been a preferred method for fertility preservation in women with breast cancer, especially if the women presented with hormonally sensitive tumors. However, data on current fertility preservation trends have indicated that whenever a patient’s clinical condition is permissive, oocyte or embryo cryopreservation after hormonal stimulation are the preferred preservation methods. An important argument for the use of these methods was that oocyte cryopreservation is an established clinical option for fertility preservation and that reproductive medicine specialists are familiar with the procedures (1).