An observational study in Cancers, sponsored by Erin Rowell. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to female participants aged Up to 11 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-03.
Sponsored by Erin Rowell · Observational
The purpose of this study is to safely remove ovarian tissue in pre-pubertal pediatric patients, who are at risk for infertility from their medical treatment, for freezing for future restoration of fertility and hormone function.
Participants are invited to take part in this study because they will be treated with chemotherapy, radiation and/or surgery that will likely affect the child's ovaries and cause the child to become infertile (unable to become pregnant) in the future.
The ovaries are reproductive glands found only in females. These glands are located in the pelvis (hip area). The ovaries produce eggs and female hormones. During each monthly menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary. This study seeks to find out if removing an ovary in adolescents and children who have reached puberty, and who are about to undergo chemotherapy and/or radiation may preserve, or keep, their ability to have children in the future. The optional ovarian tissue that is removed for research will also be used to study better ways to store the ovarian tissue and to improve of the tissue in the future.
This study has two parts: the removal of the ovarian tissue, and the storage of the ovarian tissue. A process called Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation will be used to store the removed ovarian tissue. This kind of freezing is a special method that is used to try to prevent the eggs from being damaged, and to keep them frozen for a long time. The frozen tissue will be available to your child to be used at a later time, of your child's choosing.
As a part of the study the investigator is asking participants to donate a 3-4mm biopsy (less than 10% of the ovary) of their ovarian tissue to future research before it is stored for their own use. We also enroll patients in a database study for yearly survey evaluation for long term outcome of ovarian tissue removal and potential restoration.
Ovarian Tissue Cryopreservation involves a surgical procedure where ovarian tissue of post pubertal patients is surgically removed and frozen, with the ultimate goal that their tissue may be used in the future to restore fertility when experimental techniques emerge from the research pipeline. Participation in the study is voluntary.
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This study's planned enrollment of 250 is above the median of 200 across 2,638 observational studies indexed under Neoplasms.
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Natal females who have not yet gone through puberty and who face a significant risk of infertility from their medical diagnosis or treatment
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Cancer (malignancy)
Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.
Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Children faced with a fertility threatening diagnosis will be offered ovarian tissue cryopreservation.Pre-surgery assessment will be done while your child is in the hospital or in the pediatric oncology, surgery, or anesthesia clinic as an outpatient. The surgical procedure used to remove your child's ovary is called laparoscopy. It is not required for the treatment of your child's cancer. Laparoscopic surgery is done under general anesthesia (your child will be asleep during the surgery) in the operating room.
Procedure: Laparoscopic surgery
Surgery used to remove your child's ovary tissue is called laparoscopic surgery. Laparoscopic surgery employs a telescope-like instrument called laparoscope. The laparoscope will be put into your child's belly through a small (about half an inch) cut just below the belly button. Two or three other cuts may be made to allow for other instruments to help remove one of the ovaries. The surgeon will then look at both ovaries before the removal of one. Both of your child's ovaries must appear normal and be free of any masses in order to complete the surgery. The surgeon will choose which ovary will be removed at the time of surgery. This type of surgery is likely to last for 30 to 65 minutes.
Ovarian Tissue Freezing for Fertility Preservation in Pre-Pubertal Children Facing a Fertility Threatening Medical Diagnosis or Treatment Regimen
Most of the surgically removed tissue will be stored for the child's future use. Participants have the option of donating for research purposes a small piece of the ovarian tissue, a small amount of the child's blood and the media used to process the ovarian tissue (which is otherwise discarded, for research which evaluates optimizing ovarian cryopreservation and fertility restoration techniques
Time frame: 3 months
Annual follow-up for patients who undergo ovarian tissue cyropreservation
The research study coordinator will contact families by email or telephone once per year and ask a series of questions related to ovarian function, such as beginning puberty and frequency of menstruation.
Time frame: yearly for up to 20 years
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
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