The first test-tube baby created through a new form of IVF which does not involve hormone treatment has been born, raising hopes that thousands of women with cancer could have children.
JULIAN HORTON
The first test-tube baby created through a new form of IVF which does not involve hormone treatment has been born, raising hopes that thousands of women with cancer could have children.
Researchers from Canada revealed yesterday a woman has given birth through a groundbreaking infertility treatment where eggs are matured in a laboratory, then frozen, thawed and fertilised.
The baby, who is reported to be doing well, offers the prospect of women diagnosed with cancer who want a child but are not suitable for the standard hormone drug treatment being able to have fertility treatment in future.
The British Fertility Society welcomed the development as "important" after it was announced at a medical conference in Lyon, France. Hananel Holzer of the McGill Reproductive Centre in Montreal said a further three women were also expected to give birth after becoming pregnant by the same method.
He said: "We have demonstrated for the first time it is possible to do this and, so far, we've achieved four successful pregnancies, one of which has resulted in a live birth."
Women with cancer are at risk of becoming sterile as a result of gruelling treatment for the disease, causing many to look at in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
But current treatment involves giving women high doses of expensive hormone drugs to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs. For women with cancer, and some other conditions, it can be too dangerous for them to be given the drugs. Many do not have the time to take lengthy courses of fertility drugs, leaving them with little chance of conceiving.
By ripening eggs in the lab instead - a process known as in vitro maturation (IVM) - scientists hope that they have now overcome that hurdle.
Dr Allan Pacey, honorary secretary of the British Fertility Society and a senior lecturer in andrology at Sheffield University, said the alternative method could play a major role in helping infertile women have children.
He said: "This could be a very significant step forward in developing an effective fertility preservation strategy for women and young girls who are diagnosed with cancer before they've had an opportunity to complete their families.
"In comparison to men who can easily bank some sperm before cancer treatment, women have very few options and that really is not fair.
"Clearly, there needs to be more work done to make sure the technique is safe, and the children born from the eggs are healthy, but if this is done this technique could become very important indeed."
Holzer said he had tried his new technique on 20 infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome, a leading cause of infertility.
The research is still at an early stage and has not yet been proven in cancer patients, he told the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). But he and other experts believe it can not only help cancer patients but become one of the main options for fertility preservation for all women with fertility problems.
Joep Geraedts, ESHRE's chairman elect, said the resulting four pregnancies, representing a 20% success rate, was "quite good".
"If this works in cancer patients, it might ultimately be possible to do this in all women that undergo IVF or assisted reproduction because then you don't need to bother them with hormones," he added.
