Purpose To develop guidance to practicing oncologists about available fertility preservation methods and related issues in people treated for cancer. Methods An expert panel and a writing committee were formed. The questions to be addressed by the guideline were determined, and a systematic review of the literature from 1987 to 2005 was performed, and included a search of online databases and consultation with content experts. Results The literature review found many cohort studies, case series, and case reports, but relatively few randomized or definitive trials examining the success and impact of fertility preservation methods in people with cancer. Fertility preservation methods are used infrequently in people with cancer. Recommendations As part of education and informed consent before cancer therapy, oncologists should address the possibility of infertility with patients treated during their reproductive years and be prepared to discuss possible fertility preservation options or refer appropriate and interested patients to reproductive specialists. Clinician judgment should be employed in the timing of raising this issue, but discussion at the earliest possible opportunity is encouraged. Sperm and embryo cryopreservation are considered standard practice and are widely available; other available fertility preservation methods should be considered investigational and be performed in centers with the necessary expertise.

https://ascopubs.org/doi/pdf/10.1200/jco.2006.06.5888

American Society of Clinical Oncology Recommendations on Fertility Preservation in Cancer Patients

Background Placebo treatments have been reported to help patients with many diseases, but the quality of the evidence supporting this finding has not been rigorously evaluated. Methods We conducted a systematic review of clinical trials in which patients were randomly assigned to either placebo or no treatment. A placebo could be pharmacologic (e.g., a tablet), physical (e.g., a manipulation), or psychological (e.g., a conversation). Results We identified 130 trials that met our inclusion criteria. After the exclusion of 16 trials without relevant data on outcomes, there were 32 with binary outcomes (involving 3795 patients, with a median of 51 patients per trial) and 82 with continuous outcomes (involving 4730 patients, with a median of 27 patients per trial). As compared with no treatment, placebo had no significant effect on binary outcomes, regardless of whether these outcomes were subjective or objective. For the trials with continuous outcomes, placebo had a beneficial effect, but the effect decreas...

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Is the placebo powerless? An analysis of clinical trials comparing placebo with no treatment.

Meta-analytic methods were used to synthesize the results of published randomized, controlledoutcome studies of psychosocial interventions with adult cancer patients. Forty-five studies reporting 62 treatment-control comparisons were identified. Samples were predominantly White, female, and from the United States. Beneficial effect size ds were .24 for emotional adjustment measures, .19 for functional adjustment measures, .26 for measures of treatment- and diseaserelated symptoms, and .28 for compound and global measures. The effect size of .17 found for medical measures was not statistically significant for the few reporting studies. Effect sizes for treatment-control comparisons did not significantly differ among several categories of treatment: behavioral interventions, nonbehavioral counseling and therapy, informational and educational methods, organized social support provided by other patients, and other nonhospice interventions. Though the field of psychosocial oncology is relatively young, intervention studies and indeed even narrative reviews of those studies are no longer rare. Meta-analytic investigations, however, are conspicuously absent from the literature. In the present article, the results of treatment-control studies of psychosocial interventions with adult cancer patients are assessed meta-analytically. The focus is on the effects of nonpharmacological interventions intended to improve the quality of life of adults who have already been diagnosed with

EMPIRICAL ARTICLES Effects of Psychosocial Interventions With Adult Cancer Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Experiments

Infertility and psychological distress: a critical review of the literature.

The inability to conceive children is experienced as a stressful situation by individuals and couples all around the world. The consequences of infertility are manifold and can include societal repercussions and personal suffering. Advances in assisted reproductive technologies, such as IVF, can offer hope to many couples where treatment is available, although barriers exist in terms of medical coverage and affordability. The medicalization of infertility has unwittingly led to a disregard for the emotional responses that couples experience, which include distress, loss of control, stigmatization, and a disruption in the developmental trajectory of adulthood. Evidence is emerging of an association between stress of fertility treatment and patient drop-out and pregnancy rates. Fortunately, psychological interventions, especially those emphasizing stress management and coping-skills training, have been shown to have beneficial effects for infertility patients. Further research is needed to understand the association between distress and fertility outcome, as well as effective psychosocial interventions.

Psychological impact of infertility.

Immediately before they underwent femoral angiography, 45 patients were given one of three types of audiotapes: a relaxation response tape recorded for this study, a tape of contemporary instrumental music, or a blank tape. All patients were instructed to listen to their audiotape during the entire angiographic procedure. Each audiotape was played through earphones. Radiologists were not told the group assignment or tape contents. The patients given the audiotape with instructions to elicit the relaxation response (n = 15) experienced significantly less anxiety (P less than .05) and pain (P less than .001) during the procedure, were observed by radiology nurses to exhibit significantly less pain (P less than .001) and anxiety (P less than .001), and requested significantly less fentanyl citrate (P less than .01) and diazepam (P less than .01) than patients given either the music (n = 14) or the blank (n = 16) control audiotapes. Elicitation of the relaxation response is a simple, inexpensive, efficacious, and practical method to reduce pain, anxiety, and medication during femoral angiography and may be useful in other invasive procedures.

Relaxation response in femoral angiography.

Purpose of reviewThe goal of this review was to summarize the recent research on the relationship between stress and assisted reproductive technology treatment.Recent findingsWomen and men with infertility report high levels of distress that can impact their quality of life. There are numerous psych

The impact of stress on fertility treatment.

The stress and distress of infertility: does religion help women cope?

The present study was designed to investigate whether preoperative anxiety and anger were predictive of postoperative outcome in cardiac surgery parients. A standardized scale measuring state and trait anxiety and anger was completed by 94 patients awaiting cardiac surgery. Dependent measures included length of stay, number of complications, and clinical rating of surgical outcome. Higher levels of preoperative state anxiety and anger were associated with poorer postoperative outcome. These results were obtained after adjusting for medical status, surgical procedure, preoperative length of stay, priority of surgery, gender, and age. These relationships suggest a potential role for interventions aimed at altering presurgical psychological states.

The prediction of cardiac surgery outcome based upon preoperative psychological factors

Objectives To examine the relationship of pretreatment psychological distress and demographics to conception in infertile women attending a group cognitive-behavioral treatment program. Methods Pre- and postprogram psychological measures and live birth rates were collected for 132 infertile women attending a ten-session group cognitive-behavioral treatment program. Subjects completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Symptom Checklist-90 (Revised) (SCL-90R). Conceptions that resulted in live births within six months of completing the program were noted. Results Women who conceived viable pregnancies within six months of the program had higher levels of psychological distress at program entry. Using logistic regression analysis, the best predictors of viable birth were younger age and a higher score on the global severity index of the SCL-90R. Significant pre- to postprogram psychological improvement was demonstrated by the SCL-90R and the BDI. Forty-two percent of the sample conceived viable pregnancies within six months of completing the program. Conclusions Preprogram psychological distress and younger age were associated with significantly higher viable pregnancy rates.

Alice D. Domar

Papers

Relaxation response in femoral angiography.

The impact of stress on fertility treatment.

The stress and distress of infertility: does religion help women cope?

The prediction of cardiac surgery outcome based upon preoperative psychological factors

Distress and conception in infertile women: a complementary approach.