Changjiang Daily, Wuhan Client, April 20th. I have ovarian cancer and need to have my ovaries removed. Can I still have children? Will the fertility preservation process exacerbate tumor recurrence? Recently, in Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Huazhong University of Science and Technology, a woman with ovarian cancer, with the help of reproductive medicine, gynecological oncology, obstetrics and other experts, successfully conceived and gave birth through fertility preservation technology, at the same time, the diseased ovarian tissue. Also removed.
The baby is born.
In 2019, 30-year-old Ms. Zhu unfortunately suffered from right ovarian intraepithelial cancer and underwent surgery and chemotherapy in Tongji Hospital. During the operation, considering Ms. Zhu’s strong reproductive needs, the gynecological oncologist removed the severely diseased right ovary and kept the left ovary. However, after half a year of chemotherapy, Ms. Zhu’s left ovary also showed signs of tumor recurrence and must be resected as soon as possible.
In order to help Ms. Zhu fulfill her wish to become a mother, the team of Professor Jin Lei from the Reproductive Medicine Center of Tongji Hospital and the expert team from gynecological oncology, obstetrics and other disciplines repeatedly discussed and assessed the risk, and formulated an individualized ovulation induction for the patient. According to the plan, it was decided to induce ovulation and freeze embryos before removing the left ovary to preserve fertility, and then perform surgical removal of the remaining ovarian tissue.
Professor Jin Lei from Reproductive Medicine Center of Tongji Hospital visited the patient.
In November 2020, Ms. Zhu completed fertility preservation and froze 4 embryos. Throughout the ovulation induction process, experts closely monitor the changes in the patient’s tumor. After fertility preservation was completed, a gynecological oncologist performed laparoscopic left ovariosalpingectomy for Ms. Zhu, and no tumor cell dissemination and metastasis were found during the pelvic exploration during the operation.
Professor Jin Lei explained: “The preservation of tumor fertility and safety are the most important issues for doctors and patients. Especially for patients who are sensitive to hormones such as ovarian cancer, they need to use drugs such as ovulation induction, and also Invasive operations such as egg collection may have adverse effects on the prognosis of the patient’s tumor to a certain extent. Through individualized plans and close monitoring and symptomatic treatment, the impact on the primary tumor can be minimized and ensured It’s safe.”
In August 2021, Ms. Zhu performed embryo resuscitation and transfer through assisted reproductive technology and successfully conceived.
It is understood that for the fertility preservation of female tumor patients, the most widely used clinically in my country is the cryopreservation of eggs or embryos. In 2018, the Reproductive Medicine Center of Tongji Hospital implemented the fertility preservation of the first tumor patient in Hubei Province, helping a leukemia patient.
Professor Jin Lei introduced: “Not limited to gynecological tumors, fertility preservation can be performed for most tumor types in men or women. Whether it is suitable for fertility preservation mainly depends on age and ovarian reserve function. Ideally, fertility preservation should be performed before tumor surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, because surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy usually affect reproductive function, and radiotherapy and chemotherapy can also cause abnormalities in the genetic material of eggs or sperm, causing irreversible effects on embryo quality. ”
In 2019, the Reproductive Medicine Center of Tongji Hospital established a fertility preservation multidisciplinary cooperation (MDT) team, and cooperated with the Department of Hematology, Oncology, Pediatrics, Nail and Breast Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics to jointly build in-hospital fertility The force preservation platform has opened up a green channel for comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for tumor patients. So far, the center has provided fertility preservation services for dozens of tumor patients such as lymphoma, sarcoma and breast cancer, and implemented fertility technology for many patients with malignant tumors.
Experts from the Reproductive Medicine Center of Tongji Hospital suggest that for married women with malignant tumors and fertility needs, they should go to the reproductive center for fertility preservation consultation as soon as possible after diagnosis of tumor, and embryo freezing should be performed as soon as possible. After unmarried women suffer from malignant tumors, their fertility can be preserved by freezing eggs or ovarian tissue. If egg freezing is performed, after obtaining a legal marriage, their eggs and spouse’s sperm can be synthesized into embryos by means of assisted reproductive technology, and then transplanted. back into the female body. (Reporter Wang Kaining of Changjiang Daily, correspondent Li Yunxi, Wang Lan and Xu Bei)