Animal Models of Human Artificial Ovary, Valuable Tools for Fertility Preservation in Cancer Patients

چکیده مقاله

Background: With all the recent advances in cancer
treatments, many young cancer patients find themselves
facing the prospect of losing their fertility after
aggressive chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Cryopreservation
of ovarian cortical tissue has emerged
as a potential option to restore fertility in these young
women.
Materials and Methods: Because autotransplantation
of cryopreserved ovarian cortex carries the risk of reintroducing
cancer to the patient in remittance, xenotransplantation
of frozen-thawed ovarian cortical tissue to immunodeficient
animal hosts has been suggested as an
alternative, whereby primordial follicles are activated in
an immunocompromised animal model and after initial
growth are transferred to an in vitro culture system. This
approach eliminates the risk of cancer cell reintroduction,
and in addition, the hitherto unaccomplished phase
of primordial follicle culture is bypassed. This combination
of in vivo transplantation and in vitro culture to trigger
maturation of primordial follicles has already been
achieved in mouse models