Oncologists’ Knowledge, Practice and Attitude toward Fertility Preservation: A National Survey

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Improved chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment protocols fortunately increased the survival rates over the years, and more improvement is anticipated in the coming years. However, these treatments are accompanied with late effects and may result in infertility or subfertility in those survivors. Sadly, most cancer survivors realize the effects of the treatment they received on their fertility very late, when they failed attempting to have children. Thus, it is of great importance that options for fertility preservation are offered and/or made available for young cancer survivors. Therefore, health care providers should be aware of the existence of fertility-related issues in their patients and to be able to discuss the impact of the cancer and its treatment on their fertility and possible fertility preservation options. In this study, we aim to explore the perspective of oncologists and physicians dealing with and treating patients with cancer on fertility preservation. We demonstrated in this study that oncologists in Oman are supportive of fertility preservation. The lack of knowledge and unavailability of well-structured fertility preservation services in the country hinders the initiation of fertility preservation discussions. Our findings will pave the way for improving the care for cancer survivors for better quality of life. ABSTRACT: Background: Improved chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment protocols, fortunately, increased the rates of cancer survivors over the years. However, these treatments may result in infertility or subfertility. Oncologists are considered the gateway for knowledge about cancer and its treatments’ effects. Several studies showed that many oncologists do not discuss fertility preservation with their patients. This study aimed to explore the perspective of oncologists in Oman on fertility preservation. Methods: A cross-sectional study of physicians and surgeons dealing with patients with cancer was conducted from June 2021 to December 2021. A standardized and validated questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: Participants reported that they are knowledgeable about sperm cryopreservation and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists use but not other methods of fertility preservation. About 94% of the participants reported that they need more knowledge about fertility preservation. More than half of the participants had never encountered cancer patients who used ovarian cryopreservation, testicular tissue cryopreservation, in vitro fertilization with embryo cryopreservation and oocyte cryopreservation. The majority (78%) agreed that discussing fertility preservation with newly diagnosed cancer patients is a high priority. Conclusions: Oncologists in Oman are supportive of fertility preservation. The lack of knowledge and unavailability of well-structured fertility preservation services in Oman hinders the initiation of fertility preservation discussions.