Researchers at ICGEB Trieste contribute to a collaborative study on integrated bioengineering and cell therapy techniques to preserve the fertility of pediatric cancer patients.
Published in Bioactive Materials, researchers from the University of Trieste and the IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Elettra Sincrotrone, and the ICGEB team, headed by Dr. Serena Zacchigna in Trieste, have developed an innovative strategy to preserve the fertility of pediatric cancer patients.
The procedure, which involves the transplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue, involves harvesting part of the ovary before cancer therapies, freezing it, and then re-implanting it in the same patient once she has recovered: an approach that could significantly contribute to preserving patients’ fertility.
The study has demonstrated that adding autologous cells (obtained from the same individual), derived from blood vessels, to ovarian tissue can promote faster revascularisation of the graft, thereby improving the supply of oxygen and nutrients.
Scientific research has made significant progress in treating pediatric cancers, making most such cases curable today. However, the challenge remains to improve quality of life after treatment, which may involve chemotherapy or radiotherapy and, in many cases, can impair normal sexual development and fertility.
In recent years, for prepubescent patients, the autotransplantation of cryopreserved ovarian tissue has offered a concrete hope of restoring fertility. However, this procedure still has a low success rate due to the oxygen deficit that occurs in the tissue post-transplant, before it connects to local blood vessels. This condition causes stress that leads to a significant loss of eggs and, consequently, a drastic reduction in the functionality of the transplanted tissue.
The results achieved in this study have provided hope for the development of new clinical solutions that ensure broader prospects for the long-term preservation of the health and fertility of young cancer patients.
The study was funded by the Italian Ministries of Health and of University and Research, under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and by the Italian National Operational Programme on Research and Innovation.
Link to the scientific article:
