Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation pose a significant risk of infertility for women. Leading researchers are pioneering safer methods to help restore reproductive function.
Aggressive therapies for solid tumors and blood cancers often damage the ovaries, jeopardizing future fertility. Options like ovarian tissue freezing and transplantation exist, but they carry risks, including the potential reintroduction of cancer cells.
'If a woman has ovarian cancer or leukemia, you don't want to put those tissues back in place,' warns Kyle Orwig, PhD, from the University of Pittsburgh. 'The worst thing you can do is give cancer back to a survivor.'
Dr. Orwig's team is exploring a promising alternative: implanting only ovarian follicles—the structures that house and release eggs—bypassing the risks of full tissue grafts.
Tested successfully in mice, the method involved treating four females with infertility-inducing chemotherapy, then injecting follicles from healthy donors. Remarkably, two of the four mice gave birth.
This approach shows immediate potential for human use, though Dr. Orwig plans rigorous primate testing next.
Follicles could come from donors or a patient's own stored supply, with far lower rejection risks than organ transplants—no lifelong immunosuppressants needed.
The retrieval mirrors IVF egg collection: a needle accesses the ovaries vaginally to extract follicles directly, without removing entire tissue.
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