Table 3  Fertility preservation options in female patients with breast cancer 59 .

Measure	Experimental vs. standard procedure	Ovarian stimulation (OS) required	Delayed start of chemotherapy	Surgical intervention	Preservation of ovarian function (OF)	Available in all centres	Comments
AFC = antral follicle count; CT = chemotherapy; GnRH analogues = gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues; OF = ovarian function; OS = ovarian stimulation
Cryopreservation of unfertilised oocytes	standard	yes	yes	yes	no	no	Duration of OS: 10 – 14 days
Cryopreservation of fertilised oocytes	standard	yes	yes	yes	no	no	Partner required
In-vitro maturation	experimental	no	no	yes	no	no	High AFC required, high costs, laborious procedure, practically no laboratory is currently offering this procedure
Cryopreservation of ovarian tissue	experimental	no	no	yes	yes	no	Not to be recommended at an advanced tumour stage, risk of micrometastases, no long-term data regarding OF
Ovarian suppression by GnRH analogues	experimental	no	no	no	yes	yes	Simple, favourable therapy, application before and during CT, few long-term data with regard to resumption and preservation of OF