Vnitr Lek 2008, 54(3):245-250

The options for preserving reproductive functions in women undergoing cytostatic therapy

P. Němec^1,*, M. Huser², M. Souček¹

¹ Revmatologická ambulance II. interní kliniky Lékařské fakulty MU a FN u sv. Anny Brno, přednosta doc. MUDr. Miroslav Souček, CSc.

² Centrum asistované reprodukce CAR 01 Gynekologicko-porodnické kliniky Lékařské fakulty MU a FN Brno, pracoviště reprodukční medicíny, přednosta prof. MUDr. Pavel Ventruba, DrSc.

The therapy of serious organ damages in systemic connective tissue diseases and systemic vasculitis often requires the use of cytostatics. The serious adverse events associated with such therapy include irreversible damage to the foetal gonadal tissue. Unlike in the case of other fast proliferating tissues of the human body, damage to the ovaries is mostly irreversible, due to the predetermined number of ovarian follicles at birth. Destruction of follicles causes primary ovarian insufficiency and the subsequent sterility with climacteric syndrome symptoms. The issue of preserving ovarian function has not yet been fully resolved. The paper provides an overview of current options for the preservation of reproductive functions in women undergoing cytostatic therapy which include modern techniques of assisted reproduction and new methods of pharmacological protection of the ovaries using gonadoliberin analogues.

Keywords: assisted reproduction; GnRH analogues; sterility; systemic connective tissue disease

Received: December 5, 2007; Accepted: December 28, 2007; Published: March 1, 2008  Show citation