This week the FDA and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held a virtual workshop called Measuring Toxicity in Reproductive Organs During Oncology Drug Development.
Mike Scherer, Worth the Wait Co-Founder, had the honor of serving as a panelist with leading oncologists, reproductive endocrinologists and other patient advocates. Here are some key takeaways.
- All agreed that patients in clinical trials should have their fertility tested throughout to see how treatments affect fertility for themselves and future patients.
- ASCO is working on updating oncofertility guidelines.
- Patients shared that collecting additional fertility data is not an overwhelming burden.
- Fertility is a justice and quality of life issue (thank you Lisa Campo-Engelstein for your amazing talk).
- There are significant geographic and socioeconomic disparities in access to oncofertility care.
- Patients want to know if their treatment will impact fertility whether or not they can do something about it.
