Fertility Preservation Department for women with gynecological cancer & other neoplasias

The Department

In the last years, the development of malignant neoplasms has no mercy on age, resulting in more frequent cases being diagnosed in younger ages. Specifically, gynecological cancer is likely to appear in young women who wish to preserve their reproductive capability and have children.

In these cases, fertility preservation is possible under conditions and patients need to be informed by qualified physicians of the choices available, so as to preserve their fertility, and be able to conceive and give birth to healthy babies.

The MITERA Fertility Preservation Department for women with gynecological cancer, headed by Mr. Nikos Akrivos, RCOG – ESGO Gynecologist/Oncologist, aims at providing information to cancer patients and assisting them to decide how to address the issue, with the ultimate aim being their safety.

The Department applies strict, internationally accepted scientific standards for safe oncologic treatment and proposes more conservative interventions. This way after being full briefed, patients are aware of all the data concerning them and decide on the treatment type. In all events, each case is examined separately and the treatment is determined and decided at the Oncology Board, after a long discussion with other specialists.

Specifically:

• In the event of ovarian cancer, fertility preservation is safe at stage IA of the disease and in well differentiated tumors.
• In cervical cancer, in specific cases, procedures such as cervical conization (excision of targeted segment of the cervix), trachelectomy or radical trachelectomy aiming to preserve the cervix may be performed, so that the patient may become pregnant in the future.
• In endometrial cancer fertility may be preserved in well differentiated tumors which do not penetrate the myometrium (muscular layer of the uterus), by administering medications (derivative of progesterone).
• In other neoplasms (e.g. intestinal, hematologic) for which the patient must follow treatments that are toxic for her fertility (radiotherapy and chemotherapy), prior to commencement of the proposed treatment, she may undergo laparoscopy so the surgeon may collect ovarian tissue for cryopreservation of eggs or place the ovaries out of the radiation field.