This weekend kicks off the 68^th annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in San Diego, CA and runs through October 24^th.  ASRM was founded in 1944 by a small group of fertility experts in Chicago and since then, distinguished members of ASRM have led the development of the field of reproductive medicine.  They were the first physicians to perform many of the standard procedures used by fertility specialists today, including donor insemination and in vitro fertilization, and they have helped form key legislation and fought for reproductive rights when public policy in reproductive matters did not exist.

Today, ASRM members reside in all 50 of the United States and in more than 100 other countries.  ASRM is multidisciplinary, with members including obstetrician/gynecologists, urologists, reproductive endocrinologists, embryologists, mental health professionals, internists, nurses, practice administrators, laboratory technicians, pediatricians, research scientists, and veterinarians. Needless to say, the Society is an authority on reproductive medicine and has been for over half a century, and at this year’s conference, a very important announcement is going to be made: egg freezing is no longer considered an “experimental” fertility preservation technique.

The practice of freezing eggs has long been controversial with many experts arguing there’s too little data on how well it works or how safe it is. Up until now, clinicians mostly recommended it for female cancer patients whose fertility may be at risk as a result of cancer treatment in situations where embryo banking is not an option or as an additional safeguard to embryo banking. The published report upgrading egg freezing from experimental to standard, prepared by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) Practice Committee, reviewed nearly 1,000 published studies about egg freezing and concluded that sufficient studies have been done to warrant considering egg freezing as a clinically available technique due to improved freezing and thawing techniques.

So what does this mean for cancer patients? Removing the “experimental” label may make it easier for cancer patients to receive insurance coverage if they choose egg freezing as their method of fertility preservation. It may also become a more appealing choice if it’s considered a clinically standard technique. Although there are no guarantees in any fertility preservation technique, patients may be less likely to choose experimental procedures over conventional ones.

We will have more information for you next week as this story unfolds and the report is published…

I just returned from the annual Oncofertility Consortium Conference and one of the ethical topics that came up was the possibility of disputes over frozen reproductive materials. Before undergoing life-saving cancer treatment, people may opt to freeze gametes, gonadal tissue, or embryos in order to preserve their fertility. If these people die or separate from their partners, a battle over what to do with the frozen reproductive materials can ensue. The best and easiest way to deal with disputes over reproductive material is to try to prevent them before they happen. In this blog, I discuss two ways to prevent such disputes.

One way is to have the individual with cancer write an advance directive that clearly outlines what should be done with the reproductive material should the patient die. If the reproductive materials are gametes or gonadal tissue, then ultimately the decision of what to do with the reproductive material should be made by individual with cancer, as it is her/his genetic material. If the reproductive materials are embryos, then the individuals who contributed the gametes to create the embryos should come to an agreement about how the embryos should be handled under unfortunate circumstances (e.g. death of the genetic parents or separation of the couple). Many infertility clinics require all patients—both individuals and couples—to complete a document outlining how to handle reproductive materials in unfortunate circumstances and I think this should be standard practice for oncofertility patients as well. Read the rest of this article on the blog of the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical Center.

The 2012 Oncofertility Conference: Dialogues in Oncofertility begins next Thursday, September 27^th in Chicago, IL. This 6^th annual conference will include talks from experts across the globe on topics that range from factors influencing primate folliculogenesis to the psychosocial needs of young cancer patients. The keynote presentation from Dr. Hamish Wallace, will address, “Fertility Preservation for Young People with Cancer: What Are the Remaining Challenges?” In addition, an evening cocktail hour will include a celebration for pediatric and young adult cancer survivors with national advocates, survivors, researchers, and clinicians…and a special piano performance from the founder of the young adult cancer advocacy organization, Stupid Cancer, Matthew Zachary.

For those who are not able to attend the conference in person, we are happy to announce that the educational presentations will be available through live web streaming. Virtual attendees can join in from across the globe by going to this website (http://bit.ly/virtualoncofert) during the conference hours on Thursday, September 27 – Friday, September 28. In addition, complementary CMEs, nursing, and physicians assistant credit hours will be available to online attendees. Learn more about this virtual broadcast and pre-register to receive CMEs through the virtual conference.

To attend the 2012 Oncofertility Conference in person, limited registration is still available. We look forward to seeing you there!

Here at the Oncofertility Consortium, we are busy putting the final touches on the upcoming 2012 Oncofertility Conference: Dialogues in Oncofertility. At the conference, experts will discuss which cancer treatments are likely to damage later reproductive ability for men, women, and children and  new fertility preservation methods. At this year’s sixth annual conference on September 27 – 28, 2012 in Chicago, IL, clinicians and scientists will discuss recent advances in oncofertility scientific and medical treatment.

The program for this two-day conference on fertility after cancer features translational and clinical research on fertility preservation, lessons learned from individual fertility preservation programs, a speech and special performance by the founder of the adolescent and young adult cancer advocacy group, Stupid Cancer, and a Keynote Symposium by Hamish Wallace, MD (Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh). During the two days of the conference, more than 20 invited speakers from across the globe will present cutting-edge information to attendees.

Health care providers will be provided with CME or nursing contact hours at no additional cost. For more information or to register for the conference, visit the website at http://bit.ly/oncofert12 or email oncofertility@northwestern.edu. The 2012 Oncofertility Conference is funded by the NIH (Grant 5R13HD063248-03), and an unrestricted educational grant from Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

To learn more about fertility and cancer, visit SaveMyFertility.org and download the free iPhone app.

The Oncofertility Consortium is pleased to announce the launch of the 2012 Oncofertility Conference webpage!  For anyone who doesn’t know yet, the 6^th annual Oncofertility Conference  (#oncofert12 for you Twitter folks!) is being held in Chicago this fall, September 26^th-28^th.  This year will prove to be one of our most exciting and dynamic conferences yet.  If you’ve been waiting to register, peruse our presenter line-up or submit an abstract, now’s your chance.  This year we are also offering some very exciting preconference courses for researchers and clinicians on starting your own fertility preservation program and in vitro follicle growth.

Not forgetting the advocates and all that they do for cancer and fertility, we will be hosting a cocktail hour for the many supporters we’ve joined forces with along the way, including the infamous AYA group, Stupid Cancer.   You know that if Stupid Cancer’s there, you’re bound to have a great time AND be inspired!

Some highlights of this year’s conference include:

•  Translational Research in Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation
•  The Young Adult Cancer Movement
•  Institutional Advances in Fertility Preservation

We look forward to seeing you in September!

Students and scientist-organizers of the March 12th Oncofertility 101 course

Last week, the Oncofertility Consortium hosted its second Oncofertility 101 course. In this laboratory-based course, organized by Francesca Duncan, PhD, and Jennifer Pahnke, MS, researchers learn the methods to study ovarian follicle growth in an in vitro setting. This intensive one-day course provides four scientists with the opportunity to gain instruction and practice in follicle isolation and encapsulation in alginate. In addition, they learn best practices in follicle culture, imaging, determining follicle quality. The attendees from the most recent course came from Southern Illinois University, University of Colorado, and Innsbruck Medical University in Austria.

Katharina Winkler, MD, a resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology and PhD graduate student in Innsbruck, Austria, traveled the farthest for the course. She also spent some extra time visiting with oncofertility researchers and gaining more practice in the Woodruff lab processing ovarian tissue in different species. She also met with researchers in the Shea lab to discuss ovarian grafting. As a clinician and researcher, she aims to help translate the basic research of these labs into her own practice providing fertility preservation to patients.

Before going back home, Winkler sat down and discussed her research and involvement in the European network in fertility preservation, FertiPROTEKT. This network, which was established in May 2006, by Michael von Wolff and others, includes reproductive experts from across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, who collect information about their fertility preservation patients and success rates. Like, the National Physicians Cooperative in the United States, these expert aim to expand and improve fertility preservation options for young patients. Later this week, these experts will meet to discuss their results at their annual meeting. The network is also in the process of expanding to include researchers from across Europe. We will continue to update you on progress from these and other fertility preservation networks across the globe.

Earlier this year, I blogged about a young woman and volunteer with Bright Pink, Kristin Nelson, who had preventative ovarian removal after she tested positive for BRCA1. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are a class of genes otherwise known as tumor suppressors, and a mutation of these genes has been linked to a significantly increased risk for the development of breast and ovarian cancer at an early age. Kristin had enough of a family history of breast and ovarian cancer to want to take measures to protect herself, should she develop cancer as well. Knowing this would impact her fertility, she decided to bank eggs and embryos prior to her oophorectomy.

Luckily, Kristin knew enough about her fertility risks with BRCA1 to pursue fertility preservation prior to her surgery, but not everyone has the same experience. In an attempt to raise awareness and education about fertility preservation in high-risk young women, Bright Pink has partnered up with the Oncofertility Consortium to present, Fertility Preservation for High-Risk Young Women National Teleconference on November 15^th at 8:00EST. The teleconference seeks to help high-risk young women understand the basics of fertility concerns, their options for fertility perseveration and parenthood, and provide valuable resources that are available. Leading the information session will be Oncofertility Consortium Director, Teresa K Woodruff, along with Kristin Nelson and Melissa Synder from Bright Pink. To learn more about how you can participate in this teleconference or to register, please visit www.bebrightpink.org.

Are you a cancer survivor? Help oncofertility researchers study and prevent treatment-induced fertility loss by joining the FIRST online fertility registry for cancer survivors!

This past year, the Oncofertility Consortium partnered up with the Cancer Legal Resource Center (CLRC) for their Cancer Rights Conference series, which just wrapped up the second installment in the three-part series in Washington D.C. Now, believe it or not, the final installment of the conference series is fast approaching so if you haven’t participated yet, it’s time to get involved! Join us on October 21^st, in Ann Arbor, MI, for this informative and free, one-day event. Our goal is to empower attendees to better advocate for themselves and share their knowledge with those who most need access to information and resources on cancer-related legal issues.

As always, CLRC will provide patients, survivors, caregivers, advocates, navigators, health care professionals, and attorneys with valuable information about cancer-related legal issues, including: employment & taking time off work, health, disability and life insurance options, access to health care, insurance navigation and appeals, understanding health care reform, cancer community resources, genetics and the law, legislative advocacy, fertility preservation and education rights of children and young adults with cancer. Members of CLRC’s professional network are comprised of attorneys, insurance agents, and accountants able to answer a variety of legal concerns.

FREE CLEs will be offered to eligible attorneys in attendance and CEUs will be offered to social workers and nurses. Please visit www.CancerRightsConference.org to register and/or for more information. The 2012 locations will be Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Boston.  Dates and exact agendas have not been determined thus far, but you can visit CLRC’s website to register or find more information.

If for some reason you are unable to attend this conference, but need to speak with a legal professional regarding a cancer-related legal issue, CLRC provides a toll-free telephone assistance line (866-THE-CLRC). Callers can receive free and confidential information about relevant laws and resources for their particular situation.

The 2011 Oncofertility Consortium Conference incorporated many new activities and attendees. One new special group of attendees were high school students from the Oncofertility Saturday Academy, the informal science outreach program run by the investigators of the Oncofertility Consortium around the country. A new scientists in the group, Katy Ebbert had the chance to spend some time with these young ladies and told us about her experiences with them.

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Photo by Galdones Photography

By Katy Ebbert—As an offshoot of the Oncofertility Consortium Conference that took place October 12-14^th in Chicago, high-school students from Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Diego convened to learn about the field of fertility preservation and to explore the possibilities of pursuing an education in the sciences. These young women are all students of the Oncofertility Saturday Academy, the education outreach program of the consortium. The students not only attended most of the consortium’s presentations, but they also displayed their own posters and answered questions about the research with which they had been personally involved. Over the course of the three days the girls were exposed to the progress made by the researchers of the consortium, as well as they were given a glimpse into anticipated research and future projects.

Having recently received my bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, I accompanied the girls on their trip to Northwestern’s Evanston Campus where they attended an info session and participated in a tour of the campus. Interested students were also given a quick showing of Dr. Tom O’Halloran’s laboratory in the new Silverman building on the northern end of campus. A whirlwind experience, the girls were greeted by the lively environment provided by the giant purple-shirted crowds from undergraduate orientation and were given an overview of the scientific community present at the university.

Personally, I found the girls themselves to be the most impressive part of the experience. These young women were attentive, well-spoken, and clearly driven to achieve. Eager to have their questions answered, the girls pressed the staff at the Office of Administration with questions pertaining to courses available in each school, application requirements, and many expressed a particular interest in the seven-year Honors Program in Medical Education series (a 7 year program which offers direct entry into Northwestern’s medical school). To put it simply, they kept their tour guides very busy.  It became immediately clear to me that these girls had long-term goals in mind while attending the Oncofertility Consortium Conference. They were passionate about science already at their young age, and they seemed both excited and committed to the idea of exploring all options available to them as they approached the next chapter in their education. Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and I have no doubt that either at Northwestern University or elsewhere, these young women are prepared to excel.