Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,234 studies31 sourcesUpdated 4 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Pediatrics

Parents’ perception of enhanced oncofertility care in childhood cancer patients following routine fertility informing

  • Egle Stukaite-Ruibiene1,2
  • Nikita H. Z. Clasen3
  • Marry M. van den Heuvel-Eibrink3,4
  • Jelena Rascon1,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Center for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, Vilnius, Lithuania
  2. 2Department of Anatomy, Histology and Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
  3. 3Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, Utrecht, Netherlands
  4. 4Division of Child Health, Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, and University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
  5. 5Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Background: The 5-year survival rate of childhood cancer is >80%, indicating a large number of survivors. Infertility is a late effect of cancer treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the perception of early routine fertility informing of families of children with cancer as part of oncofertility care before and after the implementation of routine informing procedure.

Methods: We evaluated and compared the quality of oncofertility care before and after routine fertility informing was implemented. The baseline group was evaluated between 1 July 2021 and 1 July 2022, using the oncofertility care evaluation questionnaire. Infertility risk was determined retrospectively in this group. On 1 July 2022, routine fertility informing was implemented. Thereafter, infertility risk was assessed prospectively, and families were informed by a dedicated staff member. The second group completed the same questionnaire.

Results: Of the respondents in the second group, 63.6% reported having had an opportunity to discuss fertility (vs. 37.5% of the first group; p = 0.002), 42.4% had received supportive material (vs. 10.7%; p = 0.003), 24.2% had questions about fertility after education (vs. 42.9%; p = 0.003), and 59% felt knowledgeable about the effects of treatment on fertility (vs. 32.1%, p = 0.001). Infertility risk was estimated correctly by 15.2% of respondents before implementation of routine informing compared with 63.6% after implementation.

Conclusions: Routine and early fertility informing of families of children with cancer as standard of care significantly improved patients' perception of oncofertility care. Parental awareness of fertility-related issues increased substantially.

Related

  1. Precision Oncofertility: Integrating Genomics, Reproductive Biomarkers, Treatment Toxicity Profiles, and Foundation Models for Fertility Preservation in Men and Women with Cancer
    International Journal of Drug Delivery TechnologyPeer-reviewedLicence not statedFull text15 citedObstetrics, gynaecology & paediatricsOpenAlex
  2. How declines in fertility rates are informing responses within health systems: a protocol for a scoping review.
    Tatjana Gibbons, Ektoras Georgiou, Becky Skidmore +8
    BMJ openPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textObstetrics, gynaecology & paediatricsEurope PMCCrossref
  3. Pubertal Testicular Function in Childhood Cancer Survivors and Future Fertility
    Mikael Koskela, Kathleen Duffin, Melanie Korhonen +5
    JAMA network openPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textEpidemiology & public healthEurope PMCCrossref
  4. Oocyte Maturation and Fertilization-Related Outcomes Following a Pro-Fertility Diet Combined with Omega-3 Supplementation in Women Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
    Mahnaz Ghadimi-Yari, Hatav Ghasemi-Tehrani, Awat Feizi +3
    International journal of women's healthPeer-reviewedCC BY-NCFull textObstetrics, gynaecology & paediatricsEurope PMC
  5. Effects of theta burst stimulation on neural connectivity and visual perception following attention modification of own-face viewing in body dysmorphic disorder
    J. P. Diaz-Fong, H. J. Peel, K. Zhang +10
    medRxivPreprintCC BY-NC-NDFull textPsychiatry & mental healthmedRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{stukaiteruibiene2026parents,
  title = {{Parents’ perception of enhanced oncofertility care in childhood cancer patients following routine fertility informing}},
  author = {Egle Stukaite-Ruibiene and Nikita H. Z. Clasen and Marry M. van den Heuvel-Eibrink and Jelena Rascon},
  journal = {Frontiers in Pediatrics},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fped.2026.1925381},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2026.1925381},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Parents’ perception of enhanced oncofertility care in childhood cancer patients following routine fertility informing
AU  - Egle Stukaite-Ruibiene
AU  - Nikita H. Z. Clasen
AU  - Marry M. van den Heuvel-Eibrink
AU  - Jelena Rascon
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/21
JO  - Frontiers in Pediatrics
DO  - 10.3389/fped.2026.1925381
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2026.1925381
AB  - Background: The 5-year survival rate of childhood cancer is >80%, indicating a large number of survivors. Infertility is a late effect of cancer treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the perception of early routine fertility informing of families of children with cancer as part of oncofertility care before and after the implementation of routine informing procedure.  Methods: We evaluated and compared the quality of oncofertility care before and after routine fertility informing was implemented. The baseline group was evaluated between 1 July 2021 and 1 July 2022, using the oncofertility care evaluation questionnaire. Infertility risk was determined retrospectively in this group. On 1 July 2022, routine fertility informing was implemented. Thereafter, infertility risk was assessed prospectively, and families were informed by a dedicated staff member. The second group completed the same questionnaire.  Results: Of the respondents in the second group, 63.6% reported having had an opportunity to discuss fertility (vs. 37.5% of the first group; p = 0.002), 42.4% had received supportive material (vs. 10.7%; p = 0.003), 24.2% had questions about fertility after education (vs. 42.9%; p = 0.003), and 59% felt knowledgeable about the effects of treatment on fertility (vs. 32.1%, p = 0.001). Infertility risk was estimated correctly by 15.2% of respondents before implementation of routine informing compared with 63.6% after implementation.  Conclusions: Routine and early fertility informing of families of children with cancer as standard of care significantly improved patients' perception of oncofertility care. Parental awareness of fertility-related issues increased substantially.
SN  - 2296-2360
ER  -