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Fertility Preservation Practices Among Ontario Oncologists

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Abstract

This study explores the attitudes, knowledge, and referring behaviors in fertility preservation among Ontario physicians providing adult cancer care. Ontario physicians with specialties in medical oncology, radiation oncology, gynaecologic oncology, and urology were invited to complete a 48-item questionnaire. A total of 152 questionnaires were available for analysis with a response rate of 23.7%. Seventy-four percent of the physicians indicated that they rarely or never modified cancer treatment due to concern about future fertility. Differences were found in fertility preservation knowledge among respondents in different medical specialties (p < 0.01) and clinical settings (p < 0.05). The frequency of initiating a referral was strongly associated with knowing where to refer patients (p < 0.001). The odds of knowing where to refer cancer patients was higher for physicians who work in a teaching hospital (p < 0.01) and a cancer centre (p < 0.01) compared with those who primarily work in a community setting. About 45% did not know where to refer female patients, and 69.7% rarely ever made a fertility preservation consultation referral for their female patients. The majority of respondents had positive attitudes despite their lack of current knowledge in cryopreservation services and fertility preservation options through assisted reproductive technologies. Our findings provide further insights of the relevance of considering physicians’ medical backgrounds and practice settings when designing training modules to raise their awareness in fertility preservation issues.

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Notes

  1. Gynecologic Oncology Group of Ontario

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Acknowledgments

The co-authors would like to express appreciation to Abha Gupta MD, David Hodgson MD, Keith Jarvi MD, Kirk Lo MD, Orla McArdle MD, Joan Murphy MD, and Barry Rosen MD for providing feedback on the questionnaire for validity purpose.

Funding Support

Mount Sinai Hospital Rose Torno Bursary 2009 awarded to the first author.

Presentation

The findings were presented at the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society’s 56th Annual Meeting in Vancouver (29 Sept–2 Oct 2010), and the presentation received the Best Psychosocial Paper award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Fertility and Reproductive Health, Mount Sinai Hospital, 250 Dundas Street West, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2Z5, Canada

    Samantha Yee & Ellen M. Greenblatt

  2. Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Samantha Yee & Esme Fuller-Thomson

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Ellen M. Greenblatt

  4. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Angela Lau

Authors
  1. Samantha Yee
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  2. Esme Fuller-Thomson
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  3. Angela Lau
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  4. Ellen M. Greenblatt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samantha Yee.

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Yee, S., Fuller-Thomson, E., Lau, A. et al. Fertility Preservation Practices Among Ontario Oncologists. J Canc Educ 27, 362–368 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-011-0301-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-011-0301-4

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