“This is a first for us! », Dr. Gynecologist at Medically Assisted Procreation (AMP) Center at Brest University Hospital. Sarah Bowe rejoiced. In late January 2024, a patient at the center gave birth to a baby girl after benefiting from an ovarian cortex transplant in April 2022. If this technique has already proven itself in Europe with about a hundred births, it is the first. Brittany.
Preserving fertility during cancer
“In 2015, this patient had to undergo treatment for cancer: Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood disease. However, we know that chemotherapy can damage ovarian cells and subsequently cause fertility problems,” explains the gynecologist. Before starting treatment, the AMP team took half of one of her ovaries from a 23-year-old woman.
“At that time, the practice was still experimental and we didn’t know if we could reuse this tissue,” recalls the doctor. A half-ovary is cut to retain only the parts containing the oocytes: the cortex. The pieces are then stored in liquid nitrogen at minus 196°C.
Seven years later, the patient, cured of her cancer, was transplanted by Professor Philippe Merville, Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology at CHRU Breast. “It’s about putting these pieces of the ovary back in their place and after three to six months, the follicles resume their function, in most cases the cycle starts again on its own. It’s almost magical,” Dr. Bow wonders.
Hope for children with cancer
The AMP Center in Brest took samples of the ovarian cortex from three patients, but this is the first time the transplant has been carried out. “It is very encouraging for the team that the transplant was successful and the resulting natural pregnancy also went well,” smiles the doctor.
The practice requires a good coordination of different services: ART, surgery, but also biology that takes care of the sample and finally oncology. “Offering additional operations to patients who have to undergo cancer treatment is sometimes complicated. But we can see with good results that it’s worth it,” continued Dr Sarah Bowe.
Ovarian cortex transplantation is particularly promising in cases of childhood cancer. “For younger girls, there are more follicles in the tissue that we preserve and, therefore, more chances of having children after the transplant,” she concludes.
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