Emory University School of Medicine, 100 Woodruff Circle, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Drive SW, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
J Cancer Surviv. 2021 Dec;15(6):906-911. doi: 10.1007/s11764-020-00983-8. Epub 2021 Jan 16.
The delivery of oncofertility care remains challenging, and cancer patients increasingly utilize online health information to fill knowledge gaps in their fertility care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the website content of NCI-designated cancer centers to assess the quantity and quality of patient-oriented information pertaining to fertility preservation (FP).
We systematically abstracted, evaluated, and compared website content for NCI-designated cancer centers (CC) and comprehensive cancer centers (CCC) pertaining to oncofertility and fertility preservation for both male and female cancer patients. Readability of each website was evaluated using the Flesch-Kincaid grade level and Flesch reading ease score.
Overall, 72% of websites mentioned the effect of cancer or cancer therapy on fertility potential. Only 56% of websites had a page devoted solely to the effect of cancer on fertility. Information for female patients was more common than for male patients (59% vs. 50%). CCC websites were more likely to include information about the effects of cancer treatment on fertility, the option for FP and details for FP methods. The majority of websites did not address risks and benefits of FP, moral and ethical considerations, or details about the success rates or costs. The median readability score correlated with a 12th grade reading level.
Patient-directed information pertaining to oncofertility and FP is inadequate on the majority of websites, and represents a gap in comprehensive cancer care and survivorship planning. Patients who rely primarily on internet-based information regarding oncofertility may not be well-informed about FP options in the critical period between cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Cancer patients and survivors interested in future fertility should be referred to reproductive specialists, when possible, for a comprehensive discussion about fertility preservation prior to cancer therapy and fertility options after completing cancer therapy.
提供肿瘤生育力保健仍然具有挑战性，越来越多的癌症患者利用在线健康信息来填补其生育保健知识的空白。本研究的目的是评估美国国家癌症研究所（NCI）指定的癌症中心的网站内容，以评估与男性和女性癌症患者生育力保存（FP）相关的面向患者的信息的数量和质量。
我们系统地提取、评估和比较了 NCI 指定的癌症中心（CC）和综合性癌症中心（CCC）的网站内容，涉及男性和女性癌症患者的肿瘤生育力和生育力保存。每个网站的可读性均使用 Flesch-Kincaid 年级水平和 Flesch 阅读舒适度评分进行评估。
总体而言，72%的网站提到了癌症或癌症治疗对生育潜力的影响。只有 56%的网站有专门针对癌症对生育力影响的页面。女性患者的信息比男性患者更常见（59%比 50%）。CCC 网站更有可能包含有关癌症治疗对生育力的影响、FP 选择以及 FP 方法详细信息的信息。大多数网站没有涉及 FP 的风险和益处、道德和伦理考虑因素，或成功率或成本的详细信息。中位数可读性评分与 12 年级阅读水平相关。
大多数网站的肿瘤生育力和 FP 相关的面向患者的信息不足，这代表了综合癌症护理和生存规划方面的差距。主要依赖互联网上有关肿瘤生育力的信息的患者，可能在癌症诊断和治疗之间的关键时期，对 FP 选择的了解不够充分。
对未来生育力感兴趣的癌症患者和幸存者应尽可能转介给生殖专家，以便在癌症治疗前就生育力保存进行全面讨论，并在完成癌症治疗后提供生育选择。
