Medscape: Some Young People Who Undergo HCT Retain Ability to Conceive

By Lorraine L. Janeczko

Young people who undergo hematopoietic-stem-cell transplantation (HCT) may be able to conceive even after being treated with highly gonadotoxic agents, a large European retrospective study shows.

The team analyzed data from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) registry. The research team investigated natural or assisted conceptions and their outcomes in patients who were under 18 years of age before their first transplantation and who received HCT between 1995 and 2016.

"I was slightly surprised that pregnancies occurred after myeloablative conditioning without support of reproductive medicine, due to the intensity of the therapy," said Dr. Joy M. Fulbright of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Children's Mercy Kansas City, in Missouri, who was not involved in the study.

"This emphasizes the importance of discussing that there is a high risk of infertility, but that the risk is not 100%," Dr. Fulbright, also director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Program at Children's Mercy, told Reuters Health by email.

Read the full article via Medscape

Learn more about the Adolescent and Young Adult program in the Children's Mercy Cancer Center