Category: News

To help doctors give their patients the best possible care, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asks its medical experts to develop recommendations for specific areas of cancer care. In 2006, ASCO developed recommendations for fertility preservation for people with cancer. These recommendations were…

Through oncofertility specialists, patients are now being counseled about options available to help maintain fertility prior to cancer treatment. Today, oncologists at the University of Colorado Cancer Center are referring patients of childbearing age to its new Oncofertility Program led by Laxmi Kondapalli, MD, MSCE.…

In 2011, Oncofertility Consortium member, Laxmi Kondapalli, MD, MSCE, started Colorado’s first fertility preservation program for cancer patients at CU School of Medicine. Recently, Dr. Kondapalli was featured in CU’s philanthropy magazine, Creating Futures, at a fundraising event she hosted entitled, Cocktails for a Cure at…

The Oncofertility Consortium is proud to announce that we have reached over 1,000 followers on Twitter! If you have not already, please follow our posts on the popular social media site, www.twitter.com/oncofertility. Not only do we post about cancer and fertility related basic science and…

A new gentler chemotherapy drug in the form of nanoparticles has been designed by Northwestern Medicine® scientists to be less toxic to a young woman’s fertility but tough on cancer. This is the first cancer drug tested while in development for its effect on fertility…

The Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology recently published a report by Oncofertility Consortium members, Kate E. Waimey, PhD, Francesca E. Duncan, PhD, H. Irene Su, MD, Kristin Smith, Harlan Wallach, MFA, Kemi Jona, PhD, Christos Coutifaris, MD, PhD, Clarisa R. Gracia, MD, MSCE, Lonnie D. Shea, PhD, Robert E. Brannigan, MD, R. Jeffrey Chang,…

Oncofertility Consortium members, Ting AY, Yeoman RR, Campos JR, Lawson MS, Mullen SF, Fahy GM, Zelinski MB, published a paper in Human Reproduction entitled, Morphological and functional preservation of pre-antral follicles after vitrification of macaque ovarian tissue in a closed system. Researchers asked the question: what are the appropriate conditions to…

The National Institutes of Health will be forced to reduce its spending by 5.1 percent, or about $1.6 billion this year, beginning today (3.1.2013) if President Barack Obama and Congress don’t strike a deal. Research labs in universities across America are preparing for the cuts, which they…

Oncofertility Consortium member, Laxmi Kondapalli, MD, MSCE, was recently featured in an article about her impressive work in Oncofertility at the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Kondapalli did her Oncofertility training at both Northwestern University and the University of Pennsylvania, and…

Dr. Woodruff sits down with the Chicago Tribune to discuss oncofertility, the term she coined in 2006 to describe the emerging subfield that bridges oncology and reproductive research to explore and expand options for the reproductive future of cancer survivors. Also featured in the article…

In a new publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oncofertility Consortium members Clarisa Gracia, MD, and Jacqueline Jeruss, MD, discuss the importance of fertility preservation communication among oncology providers and newly diagnosed young female cancer patients so that an informed choice about whether or…

A new website has just been launched to provide assistance to young patients wishing to learn about their reproductive options in the midst of a cancer diagnosis. Now patients and their clinicians can go to the new Patient Navigator for Fertility Preservation website, which includes…

A new article in Aging Cell describes reduced chromosome cohesion with advanced maternal age. The authors Duncan, Hornick, Lampson, Schultz, Shea, and Woodruff identify that eggs from older women which were obtained following in vitro maturation resulted in an increased inter-kinetochore distance between sister chromatids.…

Oncofertility Medical Practice: Clinical Issues and Implementation is the third in a series of timely and indispensable books on fertility preservation for cancer patients edited by Oncofertility Consortium members, Teresa K. Woodruff, and Clarisa Gracia. This book elucidates the latest practices and emerging treatments in…

Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Director of the Oncofertility Consortium, Dr. Teresa Woodruff, PhD, is featured in the AAAS member news this month for her work in fertility preservation and women’s health. Recipient of the $21 million dollar…

Young cancer patients are often left partially or completely infertile by the treatments that save their lives. This month, the NCI Cancer Bulletin features the emerging field of oncofertility in an article entitled, So Others May Benefit: Young Cancer Patients and Survivors Take Part in Oncofertility…

The iExperiment project is an ongoing collaboration between the Oncofertility Consortium and NUIT A&RT. The office-based systems include large displays, high-definition cameras and Vidyo equipment, which allow full participation and interaction with any of the microscope computers conducting an experiment anywhere in the world. Watch…

A publication in Human Reproduction highlights the ability to culture secondary follicles from cryopreserved macaque ovarian tissue. The authors Ting, Yeoman, Lawson, and Zelinski compared ovarian tissue after slow-freezing or vitrification and found that vitrification appeared to better maintain the morphology of stromal cells and…

In a recent publication in Tissue Engineering, Oncofertility Consortium researchers examined the use of mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) in conjunction with a 3D-hydrogel-supported culture of ovarian follicles. Authors, Tagler, Tu, Smith, Anderson, Tingen, Woodruff, and Shea, found that coculture with the MEFs resulted in the…

In a publication in Tissue Engineering, Oncofertility Consortium researchers identified new methods that may be utilized to increase the success of ovarian transplantation after cryopreservation. When ovarian tissue is transplanted back into a woman who preserved her fertility, revascularization of the tissue takes some time,…

In a publication from Human Reproduction, Oncofertility Consortium researchers investigate how common patient-specific variables, such as age, weight, and stage in the menstrual cycle, may affect the culture of ovarian follicles. Authors, Hirshfeld-Cytron, Duncan, Xu, Jozefik, Shea, and Woodruff examined how in vitro follicle growth…

The field of adolescent and young adult oncology (AYAO) is developing and evolving, providing fertile ground for debate, discussion and the exchange of opinions. In the “Controversies” feature of the Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology, the editors pose a key AYAO question to…

In this new study, the authors used the characteristic architecture of the rhesus macaque ovary, which is similar to the human ovary in terms of morphology and physiology, to devise robust isolation and culture methods for primate primordial follicles. Primordial follicles are con- fined to…

Survival takes precedence for adolescent patients with cancer and their families. Patients may not discuss their treatments’ potential to damage their reproductive capacity, which has significant psychological late effects in survivorship. This new study aims to identify whether a health-related quality of life (HRQoL) instrument intended…