A multidisciplinary pediatric oncofertility team improves fertility preservation and counseling across 7 years

John A. Ligon, Masanori Hayashi, Devon Ciampa, Cara Kramer, Alfredo Guastella, Robert J. Fuchs, Amin S. Herati, Mindy S. Christianson, Allen R. Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Oncofertility is a developing field of increasing importance, particularly in pediatric oncology, where most patients are likely to survive long-term and have not yet had the opportunity to have children. Aims: We performed a quality improvement initiative to increase our rates of fertility preservation counseling and referral through the implementation of a pediatric oncofertility team, and we report outcomes 7 years following implementation of our initiative. Methods and results: We compare our baseline oncofertility survey to 44 post-intervention survey respondents and electronic medical record documentation for 149 patients treated in 2019. Ninety-five percent of post-intervention survey respondents recalled fertility counseling (baseline 70%, p =.004) and 89.3% were appropriately referred for fertility preservation (baseline 50%, p =.017). Counseling was documented in 60.4% of charts; 81% of patients analyzed by chart review were appropriately referred for fertility preservation. Fertility preservation outcomes differed by sex assigned at birth. Conclusion: Creation of an oncofertility team produced improvements in fertility counseling and fertility preservation referral across an extended period of time.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere1753
JournalCancer Reports
Volume6
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Keywords

  • fertility counseling
  • fertility preservation
  • oncofertility
  • pediatric oncology
  • quality improvement

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A multidisciplinary pediatric oncofertility team improves fertility preservation and counseling across 7 years'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this