Abstract
Background: Cancers have become highly prevalent in developing countries
and Africa is not far from it. The treatment of these cancers increases
the risk of infertility in women. Objectives: This review aims to
understand the effects of different types of cancer treatments on the
fertility of women. Search strategy: The Preferred Reporting Items for
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were wielded
for this systematic review. We systematically searched PubMed, Google
Scholar and Medline databases to identify eligible articles on the
effects of cancer treatments on the fertility of women. Selection
criteria: The articles published between the years 2000 and 2021 were
included in the current review. The search was limited to studies in
humans and published in English. Data collection and analysis: The
selected studies were scrutinized, and relevant data were extracted from
the selected articles using excel sheet. Main results: A total of 19
articles were encompassed in this cutting-edge systematic review that
met the selection criteria. Overall fertility deficits were observed in
female survivors of cancers. Treatment with alkylating agents,
second-line therapy and age> 35 years also influence
chances of pregnancy. Pre-term delivery was also found to be linked to
cancer-related therapy. Conclusions: The present study indicates that
future measures should be taken to include assessment of women’s desire
for future fertility and also provide fertility preservation options.
Counseling tools and guidelines for referral to oncofertility
specialists should be developed for newly diagnosed young patients.
Funding: None.