The Evelina has become the first specialist London children’s hospital to successfully treat a teenager with cancer using a new type of fertility preservation.
Sophia Millen, 14, from Sittingbourne in Kent, underwent ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) surgery at the hospital.
In September last year, the teenager was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia–a type of blood cancer–and has been receiving chemotherapy at the Royal Marsden.
Teams at Guy’s and St Thomas’s Trust, which includes Evelina London, arranged the surgery before she had a stem cell transplant in May.
Forty members of staff were involved in the operation which was a “huge team effort”, said the hospital.
The innovative procedure benefits teenagers and women undergoing cancer treatment who are too unwell to wait and have standard egg collection, which takes two to three weeks.
As it is faster than other fertility preservation methods, it minimises the delay before cancer therapy can start.
Ovarian tissue is collected through keyhole surgery, before cancer treatments, and can be re-implanted afterwards once the person is ready to start a family.
It offers women the chance to restore their natural menstrual cycle and function, even if early menopause occurs, as well as the possibility to conceive naturally.
Sophia’s mum Angela said: “It has been a huge relief for us that Sophia was able to have this surgery before her transplant, as it offers her the chance to have a family when she’s older.
“It has been one less thing to worry about while she is undergoing treatment for her cancer.
“The past eight months have been a whirlwind for us all – Sophia’s cancer was detected on a routine eye test – and she’s been receiving treatment since under the world expert care of The Royal Marsden.”
The fertility preservation service at Guy’s and St Thomas’ is one of the biggest in the world.
Maxine Semple, the lead of the OTC service team, said: “We are extremely proud that we have expanded our OTC service to care for young women going through cancer treatments.
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“Our team have worked tirelessly to ensure that we are providing a service that is changing the face of fertility preservation globally.”