Radiotherapy Destroys Immature Eggs

A study at the University of Edinburgh and St Andrew’s University in Scotland suggests that the damage caused to a woman’s fertility by radiotherapy treatment may be twice as bad as previously feared.

Previously, it was thought that the estimated dose of radiation to destroy half of a woman’s remaining eggs was 4 grays. Recent research has found it to be 2 grays.

A woman is born with many thousands of oocytes in her ovaries, ie immature eggs that will mature and be released in small numbers on a monthly basis from puberty until the end of her fertile life.

A normal radiotherapy treatment might aim as much as 12 to 30 grays at the affected area. The treatment may render the woman completely infertile or younger women with a bigger reserve of oocytes may find their stock comes to an end earlier in life, with menopause starting earlier.

Scientists are now working on ways to give women facing cancer treatment greater options to preserve their fertility. These including removing ovarian tissue containing oocytes prior to treatment , freezing it and then either re-implanting it later or extracting the artificially mature oocytes it contains so they can be used in IVF treatments.

(Source: Journal of Human Reproduction)