Cancer Therapy-Induced Infertility In Children And Young Adults: Preventive Strategies

Abstract

Background:Although life-saving, cancer therapies including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, tend to negatively impact reproductive capabilities in children and younger adults. With the growing number of individuals surviving cancer, preserving fertility is becoming an important issue relating to quality of life. Even with increasing concern, patients and many healthcare providers remain obstructed by barriers regarding the implementation of preventive methods.

Objective: To evaluate the degree of awareness, perception, and implementation of preventive methods of cancer therapy-induced infertility amongst children and young adults and assess the reliability and validity of a newly developed survey tool.

Methods:A quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out targeting a sample of 273 including healthcare workers, cancer survivors 15–35 years, and caregivers. A structured 12-item Likert scale questionnaire on awareness, counseling, and attitudes toward fertility preservation techniques was used. Descriptive statistics, Shapiro-Wilk normality test, Cronbach’s alpha reliability, and principal component analysis (PCA) for construct validity were used for statistical analysis.

Results:Following supportive participant qualitative feedback regarding the perceived infertility risks and associated infertility preservation methods, participants fostered a significantly positive perception toward infertility preservation techniques. On the other hand, Cronbach’s alpha suggests poor internal consistency with 0.040. PCA showed the first component only explained 11.36% of the variance, indicating a multidimensional construct. The computed total score showed a minor deviation from the normal distribution (p = 0.033). While acceptable in the context of large samples, the visual analyses strongly supported these findings alongside the reported total score distribution. 

Conclusion:Data supports consistency between positive perceptions related to fertility preservation and clinical application of the techniques being largely inconsistent. More focus needs to be put on developing validated multidimensional frameworks aimed at improving the assessment of fertility preservation procedure standards. Early integration of fertility counseling as a part of the treatment plan, improved educational outreach for providers, and guidelines at the organizational level are crucial for the protection of reproductive health for young cancer patients..