How do cancer and cancer treatment affect a child's fertility?
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Dr. Gosiengfiao, Pediatrician
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In terms of the effect of cancer treatment and cancer on a child’s fertility, it may…it is very similar to the effect on an adult as well. Cancer per se does not really usually affect fertility, unless you have cancer in the ovaries or in the testes of course. But the treatment is really what affects fertility in these patients.
Usually the pre-pubertal patients are less affected in terms of fertility because their cells are not actively dividing at that moment, or they’re not reproductively mature at that point. And so they are somewhat protected from the effects of cancer treatment. However they can still be predisposed to becoming infertile depending on what treatment they get. And this is true for both girls and boys.