Many young women with breast cancer have not yet completed their family planning. A study by the Department of Gynecology at the University Hospital of Zurich (USZ) shows that about one in four patients aged 42 or younger seeks reproductive medicine counseling—and measures to preserve fertility do not significantly delay the start of cancer treatment.
In October, International Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the spotlight is on the most common form of cancer among women. Although breast cancer primarily affects older women, younger women can also develop the disease. For them, another important question often arises alongside treatment: Will I still be able to have children after treatment?
Why Early Counseling Is Important
Chemotherapy and other systemic treatments can damage the ovaries and lead to premature loss of ovarian function. Women who wish to have children in the future should therefore seek information about fertility preservation options as early as possible—even before beginning cancer treatment. This is also recommended by medical guidelines. These options include, for example, retrieving and freezing eggs after hormonal stimulation or preserving ovarian tissue.
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A team from the Department of Gynecology analyzed data from all female patients who received their first diagnosis of breast cancer at the USZ between January 2012 and June 2025 at an age of 42 or younger. There were 249 women in total; on average (median), they were 37.5 years old at the time of diagnosis.
Roughly one in four of them sought reproductive medicine counseling. Those who sought counseling often decided to undergo a specific procedure: Half of the patients who received counseling underwent at least one course of ovarian hormonal stimulation—a prerequisite for retrieving and freezing eggs. In most cases, a single treatment cycle was sufficient; only rarely were more than two needed. In ten cases, ovarian tissue was also frozen.
A key concern with such measures is that they could delay the start of cancer treatment. The analysis gives the all-clear on this point: Among women who underwent fertility-preserving measures, cancer treatment began, on a median basis, 26 days after diagnosis, compared with 20 days for the remaining patients. This difference of just under a week is not statistically significant.
“Our data show that young female breast cancer patients can be supported in their desire to have children without significantly delaying the start of cancer treatment,” the study team concludes.
Cross-disciplinary collaboration
This is possible thanks to the short distances involved: The Department of Gynecology works closely with the Department of Reproductive Endocrinology at the USZ. This allows patients who wish to have children to be quickly referred for specialized counseling, and the necessary steps can be coordinated with their planned cancer treatment.
