The Experience of TYAC Offered Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation
Condition: Cancer; Fertility
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      This study looks at the experiences of teenagers and young adults who have been offered
      ovarian tissue cryopreservation prior to cancer treatment as a result of their cancer and/or
      cancer treatment putting them at moderate-to-high risk of premature ovarian failure.
    

Detailed description: 
      In the UK, around 2,200 teenagers and young adults (TYA) are diagnosed with cancer every
      year, and due to advances in treatments, survival rates have improved, with a current 5-year
      survival rate of more than 80%. This means there is a growing population of long-term
      survivors of childhood/adolescent cancer who may experience late effects of cancer and/or
      treatment. One such late effect is fertility impairment, which is a key issue for TYA with
      cancer. There are few clinical options currently available for the preservation of women's
      fertility in the UK; however, ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) has been offered
      clinically at one primary treatment centre in the UK for the past 2-3 years. In an attempt to
      understand what it is like to be faced with potential infertility alongside a cancer
      diagnosis, previous studies have been conducted looking at young people's experiences of
      receiving, processing and living with this information, as well as their experiences of other
      FP techniques. However, no studies have looked at the experiences of cancer patients
      undergoing OTC. OTC differs to other FP options previously studied in several key ways,
      notably in that cancer treatment need not be delayed for it to go ahead, and it can be
      carried out with pre-pubertal females. This may mean that aspects of the process surrounding
      OTC are experienced differently to other FP options, and that OTC needs to be understood as a
      separate phenomenon. Although OTC is currently offered to women from birth to the age of 40
      in the UK, the different experience of cancer and infertility across the lifespan
      necessitates a more specific focus for this study. TYA have been chosen as an understudied
      population, with more research needed to increase understanding of their unique psychosocial
      needs and their experience of health systems. Further, focusing on TYAC may capture
      individuals who have not started puberty and would therefore benefit from the introduction of
      this new technique by being unable to undergo other FP options.

      The purpose of this research is therefore to take into account gaps in the literature and
      attempt to better understand the issues surrounding undergoing OTC for TYAC from the
      subjective experience of the individual.
    

Intervention name(s): Interviews
Intervention type(s): Other
Intervention description(s): Individual semi-structured interviews for 30-60 minutes using an interview schedule developed from an interpretative phenomenological analysis framework.
Observational model: Case-Only
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        TYAC who have been offered OTC due to moderate-to-high risk of premature ovarian failure
        due to their cancer and/or cancer treatment.
      
Keywords: Cancer; Teenage; Young Adult; Fertility; Cryopreservation; Experience