December 2016

Oncofertility Review from Japan

Drs. Miyuki Harada and Yutaka Osuga, both colleagues in Japan, recently published a perspectives article in Future Oncology: Where are oncofertility and fertility preservation treatments heading in 2016? 

Below is an excerpt from the paper which assesses the state of oncofertility and the progress of the field in 2016. Congratulations to our colleagues on a job well done! Attached is a copy of the paper. 

Oncofertility in Japan

I had the privilege of attending the first Oncofertility Nursing meeting and the first meeting of the Oncofertility Consortium JAPAN 2016 this week in Tokyo.  My hosts were Nao Suzuki, MD St. Marianna University School of Medicine  and Naoko Hayashi St. Luke’s International University.  Each meeting was attended by approximately 200 individuals and it was a wonderful welcoming environment.  

The Japanese Society for Fertility Preservation is a strong organization and has a very good website for patients and for providers.  The organization has also translated the materials on the Oncofertility website into Japanese.  For more information see:  http://oncofertility.northwestern.edu/clinics-and-centers/japanese-society-fertility-preservation

A few pictures are provided here and represent great friends and great friendships!!!  

New Oncofertility Publication in JARG

Dr. Monica Laronda and colleagues recently published a paper in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction entitled "Good manufacturing practice requirements for the production of tissue vitrification and warming and recovery kits for clinical research​" . The main objective of this study was to establish an easy-to-use kit for standardized ovarian tissue vitrification and recovery and describes the critical steps, procedures, and environments for manufacturing products with the intent of submitting an investigational new drug (IND) application for future clinical trials. 

Click here to read the paper in its entirety. 

Increasing Awareness and Access to Oncofertility Care

Oncofertility colleagues, Drs. Richard Anderson and Melanie Davies from the UK recently published an editorial in The BMJ encouraging specialists across the UK to standardize fertility preservation interventions since awareness about fertility preservation remains relatively low. Despite national guidelines, obstacles still remain in terms of need for funding and access to care.
Read the complete article here:  

A Medical Student's Experience from the 2016 Oncofertility Conference

Each year the Oncofertility Conference brings together a diverse group of professionals who all share a passion for oncofertility. Oncofertility is a field that brings together a variety of different disciplines, backgrounds, and levels of experience. All conference attendees are encouraged to interact freely and it is not unusual to see an attending physician with 25 years experience engaged in a conversation with a first year postdoc, a high school student, and a humanities scholar. Alot can be learned from each other and it is important we continue to educate the next generation of oncofertility leaders.

Below is a personal experience from Austin Armstrong, a second year medical student from the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, who attended this year's conference for the first time.