Ovarian Freezing Before Cancer Treatment

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer can compromise the ability to become pregnant. Experiments in animals and humans have tried to collect, freeze and store eggs to see if they can be saved for possible later use. While studies are promising, it is still uncertain whether such approaches will ultimately prove to be useful in practice for achieving pregnancy in humans. The main purpose of this study is to see whether it is possible to remove and store ovarian tissues by freezing. It is hoped that, in the future, frozen, stored ovarian tissue can be used to achieve pregnancy. Before receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy, subjects will have a piece of the ovaries, or one of two ovaries, removed by surgery. The tissues will be frozen by a special method in an effort to prevent the eggs from being damaged. The majority (80%) of the tissue will be stored for potential use in case the patient is unable to achieve pregnancy in the future, and part of the tissue (20%) will be used for studying how the eggs can be grown in the laboratory.