SurNet Webinar: Key Takeaways
Check out key insights from speakers and survivors at the "Saving Lives and Futures: Fertility Preservation is Key in Survivorship" webinar!
Late Effects in Survivors
Most childhood cancer survivors will develop at least one late effect in their lifetime. Late effects can be physical or psychosocial.
🔹 Physical Late Effects:
Any part of the body may be affected.
Severity is classified from grade 1 to 5.
Complications may appear shortly after treatment or up to 40 years later.
Long-term follow-up care is essential.
🔹 Psychosocial Late Effects:
Can develop from diagnosis onwards.
Include anxiety, depression, adjustment difficulties, and socialization challenges.
As survivors grow older, increasing life demands may lead to greater psychosocial difficulties.
🔹 Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL):
Some survivors are at higher risk of lower HRQoL compared to their peers.
Others experience positive self-growth and report a better HRQoL than their healthy peers.
Fertility Challenges in Survivors
Not all survivors will face fertility issues.
The risk depends on:
Type of surgery.
Chemotherapy drugs and doses.
Area treated with radiotherapy.
Age at the time of treatment.
Puberty status.
🔹 How fertility should be monitored:
Females: Growth and puberty development, hormone level testing if puberty does not progress, menstrual cycle monitoring, ovarian reserve testing (anti-Müllerian hormone).
Males: Growth and puberty development, hormone level testing if puberty does not progress, sperm analysis if needed.
Preserving Fertility, a Future Opportunity
Fertility preservation can significantly improve childhood cancer survivors' quality of life.
🔹 Options for females:
Ovarian transposition (moving ovaries outside the radiation field).
Egg harvesting and cryopreservation.
Ovarian tissue cryopreservation and reimplantation.
🔹 Options for males:
Sperm cryopreservation.
It is crucial to assess infertility risk at the time of diagnosis and discuss preservation options.
Healthcare providers should guide survivors on potential fertility challenges and available solutions.