Treatment of artificial ovaries may help women to have babies after chemotherapy



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There could be another way for women to have children after undergoing cancer treatments that are harmful to fertility. Danish researchers have managed to produce an artificial ovary that can keep human eggs alive for weeks. ( Pixabay )

For women who have undergone chemotherapy and wish to have their own children, there could be a glimmer of hope.

Doctors have successfully developed an "artificial ovary" using human tissue and eggs that can help women conceive after undergoing cancer treatments and other cancer therapies that can render vulnerable fertility.

The laboratory-made ovary in Copenhagen, Denmark, keeps human eggs alive for weeks. This gives hope that it may one day help women to have families even after the brutal process of chemotherapy and similar treatments.

"The artificial ovary will consist of scaffolding (from the woman's own tissue or donated tissue)," said Susanne Pors, co-author of the study, who will present the research at the 34th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction in Barcelona, ​​Spain. "It is newly built, but biological."

What Happens to Fertility During Cancer?

When? a woman is diagnosed with cancer, one of the most important things she must consider is how to preserve her fertility, as

At present, she has two methods: she can choose to remove and freeze some of her eggs and then, after her treatment, she can opt for in vitro fertilization.Otherwise, she may also undergo ovarian tissue transfer, which implies Remove ovarian tissue before cancer treatment and then re-plant it afterwards.

The latter method is considered dangerous because scientists believe that ovarian tissue may contain malignant cells. Thus, reintroduce the cancer into the woman's body after the treatment.

The research in question is an attempt to introduce a method that will not entail any risk of reintroduction of the disease. Pors and other authors of the study thought that if they could develop artificial ovarian tissue free of cancer, they could seed it with follicles at an early stage, which in turn could develop naturally. In the end, it could restore the woman's ability to conceive children.

More research needs to be done

The approach has garnered much praise from the scientific community, but more research is needed. In addition, researchers' data must first be peer reviewed and then published in a scientific journal.

Even in its infancy, research could be a breakthrough in fertility options for women undergoing cancer treatment. "It's an exciting development, it's a start of work but it's a very interesting proof of concept," said Nick Macklon, medical director of the London Women's Clinic.

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