Fertility Preservation in Children With Neuroblastoma or Ewing's Sarcoma: Detection of Residual Disease by a Sensitive Method
In prepubertal patients, cryopreservation of ovarian or testicular tissue is currently the only available method for fertility preservation prior to gonadotoxic cancer treatments. However, this approach carries the risk of reintroducing malignant cells upon autotransplantation, particularly in cases of metastatic cancers such as neuroblastoma and Ewing sarcoma. Therefore, it is crucial to employ highly sensitive techniques to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in preserved gonadal tissues. This study aims to identify the most effective detection method by comparing the sensitivity and specificity of reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) in identifying MRD of neuroblastoma and Ewing sarcoma in ovarian and testicular tissues from patients treated for these malignancies during infancy.
• Women of any age diagnosed with a benign cyst requiring laparoscopy may be included.
• Men of any age diagnosed with a non-obstructive azoospermia may be included.
• Prepubertal girls and boys diagnosed with neuroblastoma or Ewing sarcoma during infancy may be included.
• Capable of providing written informed consent to participate in the research study
• Affiliated with a social welfare service.
• For prepubertal patients, written informed consent to participate in the research study must be provided by their parents or legal guardians.