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Review
. 2020 Dec 8:11:572388.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2020.572388. eCollection 2020.

Chemotherapy Associated Ovarian Failure

Davide Mauri  1   2 , Ioanna Gazouli  2 , Georgios Zarkavelis  2 , Alexandra Papadaki  2 , Leonidas Mavroeidis  2 , Stefania Gkoura  2 , Panagiotis Ntellas  2 , Anna-Lea Amylidi  2 , Lampriani Tsali  3 , Eleftherios Kampletsas  2
Affiliations
Review

Chemotherapy Associated Ovarian Failure

Davide Mauri et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

As the incidence of malignancies in young adults is increasing, fertility preservation in cancer survivors arises as a major concern. Especially among female cancer patients, pregnancy rates are estimated to be 40% lower compared to women of the same age. Nowadays oncologists are to be preoccupied not only with their patients' successful treatment, but also with the maintenance of the potential of the latter to conceive and obtain children. Chemotherapy associated ovarian failure (COF), refers to disruption of ovarian function both as an endocrine gland and as a reproductive organ, due to previous exposure to chemotherapy agents. Although the underlying mechanism is not fully understood, it is supposed that chemotherapy agents may induce either DNA damage of premature ovarian follicle or early activation and apoptosis of them, resulting into early exhaustion of available follicle deposit. Various chemotherapy agents have been associated with COF with the highest incidence being reported for patients undergoing combination regimens. Although a variety of alternatives in order to maintain ovarian function and fertility in female cancer survivors are available, adequately established practices to do so are lacking. Thus, it is of major importance to investigate further and collect sufficient evidence, aiming to guide patients and physicians in everyday clinical practice.

Keywords: cancer; chemotherapy; ovarian failure; ovarian reserve; sterility.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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