gene-expression-analyses-in-human-follicles

Gene Expression Analyses in Human Follicles

The ovary is a heterogeneous organ composed of different cell types. To study the molecular mechanisms occurring during folliculogenesis, the localization ...

Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Ovarian stimulation for oocyte and embryo cryopreservation is the standard of care for fertility preservation in young breast cancer patients before gonadotoxic chemotherapy. The procedure should be started as soon as possible to avoid delay of treatment; thus, it is often performed concomitantly with tumor staging assessments. However, questions remain regarding the potential negative impact on oocyte quality that may occur due to exposure to scattered ionizing radiation from imaging techniques when staging assessment is conducted at the same time as ovarian stimulation.

A retrospective study evaluating the impact of scattering radiation from imaging procedures on oocyte quality during ovarian stimulation for fertility preservation in young breast cancer patients.

More than 10% of women diagnosed with breast cancer during reproductive age carry hereditary germline pathogenic variants in high-penetrance BRCA genes or in others genes involved in DNA repair mechanisms such as PALB2, BRIP or ATM. Anticancer treatments may have an additional negative impact on the ovarian reserve and subsequently on the fertility of young patients carrying such mutations. Recently, the combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel is being recommended to these BRCA-mutated patients as neoadjuvant therapy. However, the impact on the ovary is unknown. Here, we investigated their effect of on the ovarian reserve using mice carriers of BRCA1-interacting protein C-terminal helicase-1 (BRIP1) mutation that plays an important role in BRCA1-dependent DNA repair. Results revealed that the administration of carboplatin or paclitaxel did not affect the ovarian reserve although increased DNA double-strand breaks were observed with carboplatin alone. Co-administration of carboplatin and paclitaxel resulted in a significant reduction of the ovarian reserve leading to a lower IVF performance, and an activation of the PI3K-Pten pathway, irrespective of the genetic background. This study suggests that co-administration of carboplatin and paclitaxel induces cumulative ovarian damage and infertility but a heterozygote genetic predisposition for DNA damage related to BRCA1 gene function does not increase this risk.

Ovarian toxicity of carboplatin and paclitaxel in mouse carriers of mutation in BRIP1 tumor suppressor gene.

Fertility preservation (FP) is recommended in young breast cancer (BC) patients before (neo)adjuvant treatment. Letrozole-associated controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (LetCOH) is used worldwide to collect mature oocytes for FP, but its efficacy and safety compared to conventional protocols (cCOH) are still debated.

Efficacy and safety of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation with or without letrozole for fertility preservation in breast cancer patients: A multicenter retrospective study.

Isabelle Demeestere

Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction,
Fertility Clinic,
Erasme Hospital,
Fertility Clinic, Erasme Hospital

Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Gene Expression Analyses in Human Follicles

Isabelle Demeestere

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Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

Gene Expression Analyses in Human Follicles

Research Laboratory on Human Reproduction,
Fertility Clinic,
Erasme Hospital,
Fertility Clinic, Erasme Hospital