This malignant disease of the lymphatic system is often diagnosed in women of reproductive age. With adequate cytotoxic therapy, it has a very high cure rate. Hodgkin’s lymphoma can usually be treated very well. Most chemotherapy treatments cause little damage to the ovaries and testicles, so that fertility preservation measures are rarely or never necessary.
However, there are also chemotherapies that can have a greater impact on the function of the ovaries or testicles. In women, age is a significant factor. Below the age of 30, women usually still have a lot of oocytes, meaning that a reduction in the number of oocytes due to chemotherapy does not play a major role. On the other hand, over the age of 30 or if the ovarian reserve is already reduced, a reduction in the number of eggs can considerably impair fertility.
Therefore, it must be decided on the basis of the type of chemotherapy and depending on the age of a woman whether a fertility-preserving measure is reasonable.
The so-called germ cell-preserving therapies, i.e. the freezing of eggs, sperm or ovarian or testicular tissue, are a possible option. They require ½ to 2 weeks and can usually be carried out well before chemotherapy. As a drug option, the administration of so-called GnRH agonists is a possibility, but is only recommended as an additional measure.
One possibility to facilitate the patient’s decision after the counselling interview regarding fertility-preserving measures is the “Decision Aid” linked here.
It is a digital aid for decision-making developed by psychologists, psychotherapists and reproductive physicians.
