Importance of ovarian tissue cryopreservation in fertility preservation and anti-aging treatment

Abstract

Various oncological and non-oncological diseases, as well as their treatments, can cause premature ovarian insufficiency and reduce a woman’s reproductive potential. Fertility preservation is, therefore, becoming an emerging field of reproductive medicine allowing these patients to have their own biological children. The aim of this review is to analyze the importance of ovarian tissue cryopreservation as a fertility preservation method as well as its new role as a hormone replacement treatment. Although ovarian tissue cryopreservation is currently regarded as an experimental procedure, it is rapidly advancing and may become an established fertility preservation method in the near future. This method does not require ovarian stimulation or a subsequent delay in the initiation of cancer treatment. Furthermore, orthotopic ovarian tissue transplantation offers the unique opportunity of spontaneous conception. Due to the restoration of endocrine function following the procedure, ovarian tissue cryopreservation may also be used as tissue hormone replacement therapy in cases of premature ovarian insufficiency, to postpone menopause and prevent its troublesome symptoms and diseases. Even though the role of ovarian tissue cryopreservation as a new anti-aging treatment modality is quite promising, the safety and efficacy of this approach should be investigated in clinical settings.

摘要

多种肿瘤和非肿瘤疾病及其治疗方法都可能导致早发性卵巢功能不全, 并降低女性的生殖潜能。因此, 生育力保护正在成为生殖医学的新兴领域, 使得这些患者能够拥有自己的亲生子女。 这篇综述的目的是分析卵巢组织冻存作为生育力保存方法的重要性及其作为激素替代治疗的新作用。尽管卵巢组织冻存目前被认为是一种试验方法, 但它正在迅速发展, 并可能在不久的将来成为一种成熟的生育力保护方法。该方法不需要卵巢刺激并且不推迟随后抗癌治疗的开始。此外, 原位卵巢组织移植提供了自然受孕的独特机会。由于移植后内分泌功能的恢复, 卵巢组织冻存还可能可以用作早发性卵巢功能不全的组织激素替代治疗, 以推迟绝经及预防绝经相关症状和疾病。尽管卵巢组织冻存作为一种新的抗衰老治疗方法的作用很有前途, 但应在临床环境中研究这种方法的安全性和有效性。

The Chinese abstracts are translated by Prof. Dr. Xiangyan Ruan and her team: Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China.

Keywords:

• Ovarian tissue cryopreservation
• fertility preservation
• premature ovarian insufficiency
• anti-aging therapy
• menopause

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.