Fertility Preservation in Endometrial Cancer: Current Knowledge and Practice

Abstract

Uterine cancer affects more than 1.28 million people worldwide; considering current world trends in obesity and aging, a +52.7% growth by 2040 is foreseen. Around 5% of endometrial cancer patients are less than 40 years old, meaning that conventional oncologic approaches would result in fertility loss; thus, it is essential to consult patients regarding their fertility and family planning. Owing to developments of oncofertility, patients are now able to preserve their fertility and complete their childbearing, drafting from the standard of care in endometrial cancer. Strict criteria should be applied to make sure of selecting patients who benefit most from the fertility preservation approach. Furthermore, careful selection of patients increases the possibility of successful treatment. Most candidates for fertility preservation have risk factors in common with infertility, including polycystic ovarian syndrome, obesity, increasing of age and irregular menses; therefore, Advanced Reproductive Technology (ART) can improve their chances for pregnancy. Current applied knowledge towards the fertility preservation approach in patients with endometrial cancer is reviewed in this article.