Malignancy may adversely influence the quality and behaviour of oocytes

A case series of eight cycles of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in five womendiagnosed with malignant disorders is presented. These patients chose todefer definitive treatment for a chance for preservation of potentialfertility. The response of these patients to ovarian stimulation, and theoutcome, was compared with 17 IVF cycles in 12 age- matched patients withisolated tubal infertility. An apparent adverse influence of malignantdisease on the quality and behaviour of oocytes was observed. Despite acomparable total number of oocytes per cycle in the two groups, asignificantly reduced percentage of mature oocytes was retrieved per cyclefrom patients with malignant diseases. The oocytes from patients withmalignant disorders were of a poorer quality and exhibited a significantlyimpaired fertilization rate compared to the controls. We propose thatneoplastic processes, irrespective of the site or cell of origin, may havea detrimental impact on the biology of oocytes, an effect akin to that seenon spermatozoa in men with certain malignancies.