Role of Health Care Providers
Recommendation 4.1
➤ All oncologic health care providers should be prepared to discuss
infertility as a potential risk of therapy. This discussion should take
place as soon as possible once a cancer diagnosis is made and can occur
simultaneously with staging and the formulation of a treatment plan.
There are benefits for patients in discussing fertility information with
providers at every step of the cancer journey.
Recommendation 4.2
➤ Encourage patients to participate in registries and clinical studies, as
available, to define further the safety and efficacy of these interventions
and strategies.
Recommendation 4.3
➤ Refer patients who express an interest in fertility, as well as those who
are ambivalent or uncertain, to reproductive specialists as soon as
possible.
Recommendation 4.4
➤ Refer patients to psychosocial providers when they are distressed about
potential infertility.
Special Considerations: Children
Recommendation 5.1
➤ Suggest established methods of fertility preservation (e.g., semen or
oocyte cryopreservation) for postpubertal children, with patient assent
and parent or guardian consent. For prepubertal children, the only
fertility preservation options are ovarian and testicular cryopreservation,
which are investigational.
