European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Cancer has become highly prevalent in developing countries, and Africa is not far from it. The treatment of these cancers increases the risk of infertility in women. This review aims to understand the effects of different types of cancer treatments on the fertility in women.
Method: PRISMA guidelines were followed for scrutinizing the articles. Original research articles were searched and obtained from online databases including Pub Med, Pub Med Central, Springer, Nature, Web of Sciences, Semantic Scholar, Medline, Science Direct, Directory of Open Access Journals, Google Scholar, Research Gate, EMBASE, National Center for Biotechnological Information etc. After removing irrelevant, duplicated, and less correlated articles from the total of 1671 obtained articles, 19 studies were included in the systematic analysis.
Results: Among The 19 Studies Included, 14 Were Retrospective. Based On The Systematic Analysis Performed, Overall Fertility Deficits Were Observed In Female Survivors Of Cancers. Sex, Age At Diagnosis, Pre-Diagnosis Parenthood, And Diagnostic Period All Had An Effect On Fertility After Cancer Treatment. Treatment with alkylating agents, second line therapy, and age>35 years also influence the chances of pregnancy. Pre-term delivery was also found to be linked to cancer-related therapy. The probability of having a first live birth among cancer survivors was low. The site of cancer and age at the onset of cancer were independent predictors of a reduced probability of giving birth after diagnosis. Pelvic radiation was found to be more damaging than abdominal or supradiaphragmatic radiation.
Conclusion: The present review suggests that future measures should be taken to include an assessment of women’s desire for future fertility and also provide fertility preservation options. Fertility preservation strategies for cancer-affected women in their reproductive years. Long-term fertility data on cancer survivors in South Africa are needed. Counseling tools and guidelines for referral to onco-fertility specialists should be developed for newly diagnosed young patients.