Abstract P1-17-05: Oncofertility awareness and attitudes among health care providers and patients in a Chinese academic setting: Preliminary results
Authors: Biskup Ewelina Maria , Zhaochen Xin , Appiah Leslie C , Sun Yun , Lu Yan , Zhang Hangwei , Lindheim Steven R. 
Published: March 2020

Background: While the incidence of cancer continues to rise worldwide, mortality rates have decreased due to advancements in treatment regimens. Many pre-adolescent and reproductive age cancer survivors experience chronic health conditions, including premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and failure (POF) and greater than 75% of reproductive age cancer survivors report the desire to parent in the future. Fertility preservation counseling and initiation of fertility preservation treatments are an important part of the management of these patients, but its utilization in the Chinese medical system is unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate attitudes and gaps of knowledge regarding fertility preservation among medical and surgical oncology healthcare professionals (HCPs) and breast cancer patients in Chinese academic settings.

Materials and Methods: An online questionnaire assessing participants’ demographics, attitudes knowledge, and utilization regarding oncofertility services was designed and distributed to HCPs and breast cancer patients in an academic teaching setting in Shanghai.

Results: Surveys were sent to all breast cancer patients of 6 collaborative hospitals and medical and surgical oncology HCPs in the Shanghai district via Wechar-based questionnaire program. To date, 61 HCPs and 52 patients responded to the survey. Sixty-nine percent (42) of HCPs compared to 19.2% (10) of patients were familiar with the term “oncofertility”. Overall, 80.3% (49) of HCPs reported positive attitudes about oncofertility and discussing fertility-sparing options compared to 80.3% (48), 75.4% (41), and 55.7% (34) of their reproductive, adolescent, and pre-adolescent age patients. 40 out of 43 HCPs (93%) stated that they have initiated a discussion about oncofertility options, while only 30.8% of patients (4/13, p&lt;0.001) reported doing so. Knowledge of “required” marital status to undergo oncofertility services, was significantly different between HCPs and patients (didn’t know-37.8% vs 59.6%; didn’t need to be married-55.7% vs 23.1%; required being married-6.6% vs 17.3%, p&lt;0.01). Fifty-five percent (34) of HCPs knew the correct range of costsfor semen and oocyte/embryo cryopreservation, while 81% (42) of patients had no knowledge at all. Despite discussing oncofertility options with patients, 57.4% (35) HCPs reported referring less than 10 patients and none reported referring more than 25 patients in the past year.

Conclusion: Preliminary results suggest that while the majority of academic oncologic Chinese HCPs are aware of oncofertility, their knowledge of eligibility and costs of fertility preservation services is limited. Furthermore, a significant knowledge gap exists between HCPs and breast cancer patients. This may represent ineffective communication or lack of patient comprehension, resulting in severe under-utilization of oncofertility services. Continued education and raised awareness are urgently needed to optimize care.

Citation Format: Ewelina Maria Biskup, Xin Zhaochen, Leslie C Appiah, Yun Sun, Yan Lu, Hangwei Zhang, Steven R. Lindheim. Oncofertility awareness and attitudes among health care providers and patients in a Chinese academic setting: Preliminary results [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P1-17-05.