Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 833 Chestnut Street, 1st Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19107, USA.
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NYC Health and Hospitals, 82-86 164 St, New York, NY, 11432, USA.
J Assist Reprod Genet. 2022 Apr;39(4):957-962. doi: 10.1007/s10815-022-02442-y. Epub 2022 Feb 25.
To assess oncofertility content on fertility clinic websites as indicated by eight relevant keywords. Additionally, we sought to describe the relationship between oncofertility content and five predetermined clinic characteristics.
We examined 381 fertility clinic websites that are members of the Society for Associated Reproductive Technology (SART). Extracted data included clinic location, practice type (private vs academic), size (cycles/year), type of NCI designated center (cancer center vs comprehensive cancer center), and distance from the nearest NCI center. Additionally, we documented whether the clinic was located in a state mandating reproductive and infertility services and/or included fertility preservation for "iatrogenic infertility" as reported by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Data were summarized using descriptive statistics and compared using chi-squared or t-test as appropriate.
Of the 381 fertility clinic websites analyzed, 322 (85%) contained at least one oncofertility-related keyword. Most frequently used terms included cancer (79%) and fertility preservation (78%), while less frequently used terms included suppression (9.4%) and shielding (5.0%). Practices that initiated ≥ 501 cycles per year were more likely to mention one of the oncofertility keywords (OR 1.2; 95% CI 1.1-1.3). The associations of oncofertility website content with practice type, state-mandated fertility insurance coverage, and distance from an NCI-designated cancer center were not statistically significant. Large clinic size was the only predictive factor for inclusion of oncofertility website content. Further studies are required to evaluate whether inclusion of oncofertility content on clinic websites impacts the use of these services by patients with cancer.
This is the first study correlating availability of oncofertility content on SART fertility clinic websites with consideration of geographic proximity to NCI designated cancer centers. Large clinic size was the only predictive factor for inclusion of oncofertility website content.
通过八个相关关键词评估生育诊所网站上的肿瘤生育力内容。此外，我们还试图描述肿瘤生育力内容与五个预先确定的诊所特征之间的关系。
我们检查了 381 家生殖技术协会 (SART) 的生育诊所网站。提取的数据包括诊所位置、实践类型（私人与学术）、规模（每年周期数）、美国国家癌症研究所 (NCI) 指定中心的类型（癌症中心与综合癌症中心）以及离最近的 NCI 中心的距离。此外，我们还记录了诊所是否位于要求提供生殖和不孕症服务的州，以及是否根据美国生殖医学学会 (ASRM) 的报告包括“医源性不孕”的生育力保存。使用描述性统计数据总结数据，并使用适当的卡方检验或 t 检验进行比较。
在分析的 381 家生育诊所网站中，有 322 家（85%）至少包含一个与肿瘤生育力相关的关键词。最常使用的术语包括癌症（79%）和生育力保存（78%），而较少使用的术语包括抑制（9.4%）和屏蔽（5.0%）。每年启动≥501 个周期的实践更有可能提到一个肿瘤生育力关键词（比值比 1.2；95%置信区间 1.1-1.3）。肿瘤生育力网站内容与实践类型、州规定的生育保险覆盖范围以及与 NCI 指定癌症中心的距离之间的关联没有统计学意义。诊所规模大是纳入肿瘤生育力网站内容的唯一预测因素。需要进一步研究评估癌症患者使用这些服务时，诊所网站上是否包含肿瘤生育力内容。
这是第一项将 SART 生育诊所网站上的肿瘤生育力内容可用性与考虑到与 NCI 指定癌症中心的地理接近程度相关联的研究。诊所规模大是纳入肿瘤生育力网站内容的唯一预测因素。
