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Abstract

Viable Options for Fertility Preservation in Breast Cancer Patients: A Focus on Latin America

VOLUME 69 - NUMBER 2 / March - April (In-depth Reviews)  doi: 10.24875/RIC.17002179

Matteo Lambertini, Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory and Breast Data Centre, Department of Medicine, Institut Jules Bordet and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
Oranite Goldrat, Fertility Clinic, Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction, Erasme Hospital, and Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Regina Barragan-Carrillo, Joven & Fuerte: Program for the Care and Research of Young Women with Breast Cancer in Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Giulia Viglietti, Breast Cancer Translational Research Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Institut Jules Bordet and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
Isabelle Demeestere, Fertility Clinic, Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction, Erasme Hospital, and Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
Cynthia Villarreal-Garza, Department of Research and Breast Tumors, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología (INCan), Mexico City; Breast Cancer Center, Hospital Zambrano Hellion, Tecnológico de Monterrey, San Pedro Garza García, Monterrey, N.L.; Joven & Fuerte: Program for the Care and Research of Young Women with Breast Cancer in Mexico, Mexico City;, Mexico

Thanks to the improved survival outcomes observed in recent years, a growing attention has been given to the quality of life issues faced by young women with breast cancer such as fertility preservation and concerns related to future pregnancies. However, several challenges remain for young women with breast cancer considering undergoing fertility preservation strategies. Further specific issues on this regard should be taken into account in Latin America, where patients and physicians face particular barriers that hinder the routine adoption of this practice. Hence, further efforts are needed to overcome these deficiencies and improve the correct referral of breast cancer patients to fertility preservation strategies.
The aim of the present review is to focus on the risk of anticancer treatment-related premature ovarian failure and infertility in young breast cancer patients, to summarize the current knowledge on the available options for fertility preservation, and to discuss the safety issues of pregnancy in breast cancer survivors. Furthermore, this review aims to highlight the specific clinical challenges in this field encountered by healthcare providers and young breast cancer patients from Latin American countries.

Keywords: Breast cancer. Fertility preservation. Premature ovarian failure. Latin America. Young women.

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