Fertility Status Perception, Fertility Preservation and Desire to have Children in Cancer Survivors: French VICAN Survey

Abstract

Aim:To report fertility status perception, fertility preservation and desire to have children in French cancer survivors 2 and 5 years after diagnosis.Methods:A total of 427 women and 115 men self-reported treatment-induced infertility, fertility status, access to gamete conservation, desire to have children and pregnancy/live births.Results:A total of 96.5% of men and 92.9% of women were thought to be fertile at diagnosis and 38% desired to have children. A total of 57.8% of men and 67.4% of women declared that no fertility preservation had been discussed before treatment. After 2 years, 26.8% of patients still desired to have children. After 5 years, 18 live births have been reported.Conclusion:Despite a legal obligation and technical progress, there is a lack of information given to patients.

Pregnancy, fertility concerns and fertility preservation procedures in a national study of French breast cancer survivors

“…Finally, in the VICAN study (24), which included 427 women aged from 18 to 40 years treated in 2010, 291 women (68.1%) reported having received no FP counseling before cancer treatment.…”

An evaluation of the population characteristics, semen quality, and utilization status of autologous sperm cryopreservation and fertility preservation in for 662 patients: a 6-year monocentric retrospective study

“…This is related to the continual improvement of the cognition level and the acceptance of autologous sperm preservation among medical staff and the common population, as well as the rigid demands of patients for autologous sperm preservation. In particular, cancer patients have a higher demand for fertility preservation [ 6 , 9 , 11 ]. The literature [ 12 ] reported that only 75.0% of tumor patients received fertility preservation counseling, and 33.1% of patients completed sperm freezing.…”

“…Some patients with tumors did not have their spermatozoa frozen for a variety of reasons, including a lack of knowledge about the risk of infertility, the limited availability of counseling services, and being afraid of delaying treatment [ 12 ]. Furthermore, 57.8% of male patients failed to discuss fertility preservation with the doctors prior to tumor treatment [ 9 ]. However, 87% of testicular tumor survivors were willing to preserve their spermatozoa by freezing [ 13 ].…”

“…Another report indicated that 59.2% of patients preserved sperm because of disease, and that the main etiologies requiring fertility preservation before radiotherapy and chemotherapy were TC, lymphomas, and colon cancer [ 15 ]. At the point of a definite tumor diagnosis, 96.5% of male patients were still fertile; 38% and 26.8% had a desire to have children at that time and after 2 years, respectively [ 9 ]. Older age, high-risk occupations, planned vasectomy, and personal initiative were other reasons for semen preservation in the patients in our study.…”

Collaborative digital platform France – Cuba: oncorehabilitation in reproductive and sexual health

“…Results of the French study VICAN, including 4174 cancer survivors, shows that, among 585 patients aged 18–40 at diagnosis, 57.8% of men and 67.4% of women did not discuss fertility preservation before treatment. Respectively, 79.3 and 77.2% did not perform cryopreservation [ 4 ].…”