Objective: Survival improvement of children, adolescents and young women with cancer has led to consider with more cautiousness the long time iatrogenic side effects of treatments. Among those, premature ovarian failure has been described even for children. The aim of the study was to evaluate the indications and the feasibility of ovarian tissue cryopreservation for prepubertal girls.
Patients and methods: From September 2000 to December 2004, 47 prepubertal girls were referred by oncologists for ovarian tissue cryopreservation. After informed consent, the ovarian tissue was collected and frozen by a slow cooling protocol until the temperature of liquid nitrogen. A histological analysis and a follicular account were performed.
Results: The harvest of ovarian tissue was performed for 45 patients. No surgical side effect occurred. The younger girls had a follicular density higher than the older. No metastatic ovarian tumour was found.
Discussion and conclusions: Numerous arguments as the follicular density in the ovary, the age of the patient, no surgical side effect, no metastatic ovarian tumour and recent progress in term of birth after ovarian tissue autografting allowed to think it is very important and ethical to propose an ovarian tissue cryopreservation even for children before sterilising treatment.