Protecting Fertility During Chemo

Dec. 20 - KGO (KGO) -- A side-effect of chemotherapy is infertility, but now researchers say a once-a-month shot may change that.

For many women diagnosed with breast cancer, the realization that chemotherapy could leave them infertile is devastating. Freezing eggs is one costly option, but there isn't always enough time. Now a drug used for prostate cancer patients can protect fertility during chemo.

Madeleine Ross is mom to two-year-old Amanda and four-year-old Charlie, but she wanted one more.

Madeleine Ross, cancer patient: "I always thought three was a nice round number to have for children."

Then Madeleine was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Madeleine Ross: "When he told me, I burst into tears. It was not a good moment. I was all alone, and it was rough."

Madeleine faced surgery and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy often causes women to go into menopause which of course leaves them infertile. Doctors are trying different ways to preserve fertility including freezing a woman's eggs before treatment, but that can be expensive. So now they're trying an experimental drug to preserve patients' fertility. Madeleine decided to try it.

Madeleine Ross: "If it can help research and can help women down the line, yeah, we'll do it."

An injection of the drug Triptorelin is given each month during chemotherapy. The drug temporarily shuts down the ovaries.

Dr. Pamela Munster says the treatment looks promising.

Pamela N. Munster, M.D., medical oncologist: "The hope is that we try to get the ovaries out of the cycling and therefore by shutting it down, shutting its function down, we try to preserve the damage to it."

A smaller study showed this treatment worked. Eighty percent of the women studied began menstruating again within a year.

Dr. Munster: "So even if a woman decides later on they don't want to have a child, they still may not want to be in a menopausal state."

Madeleine decided she won't try for a third child after all. But she hopes this research will help other women experience the joy of motherhood.

Researchers say ovarian damage during chemotherapy depends on the woman's age, the dose of the drug, and the type of drug given. The research is sill in its early stages.

To learn more about the possibility of preserving fertility, click here for our research summary.

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