Fertility in women survivors of hematological malignancies: What is the real role of GnRH analogue treatment?

Purpose of investigation: The aim of this study was to evaluate the ovarian function in women who received or not gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue co-treatment compared to the control group that did not receive it. Materials and Methods: This study analyzed 124 patients affected by hematological diseases between 1998 and 2007. The data were analyzed using R (v 2.9.1). Results: In the women treated with GnRH analogue, the authors found 33% post-treatment secondary amenorrhea and 6% had a pregnancy post-treatment, while in the other group the prevalence were respectively 49% and 4% (p n.s.). Moreover, in multivariate analysis the authors found bone marrow transplantation to be a risk factor for secondary amenorrhea, while the association of chemotherapy with radiotherapy was a protective factor (p < 0.05). Finally, none of the considered factors were predictive of pregnancy achievement post-treatment. Conclusions: The authors found no statistical evidence to support that Gn-RH analogue treatment preserves ovarian follicular reserve during hematologic cancer treatment, but more evidence must be obtained.