ESA-SRB-AOTA 2019

Characterising the impacts of cancer therapies on the female reproductive tract (#3)

Amy L Winship 1
  1. Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia

In recent years, attention has shifted from conventional cancer therapies to more personalised, targeted treatments with reduced off-target effects. This includes the introduction of immunotherapies and small molecule inhibitors, like PARP inhibitors to the clinic, but with no preclinical investigations or understanding of their impacts on the female reproductive tract, or fertility. The number and quality of primordial follicle oocytes in the ovary are non-renewable and the source of all mature ovulatory oocytes. They are therefore indispensable for female fertility. I’ve shown that the PARP inhibitor, olaparib, administered at clinically relevant levels, dramatically depletes the primordial follicle reserve in mice. I am currently investigating the impacts of two immunotherapies on the ovaries in mice. And importantly, while the oncofertility filed has largely focused on the ovary, I am leading a study to uncover the impacts of radiotherapy and chemotherapy on the uterus in vivo, for the first time. Together, these studies could not only improve our understanding of the extent and mechanisms of cancer-therapy mediated damage, but also provide novel insights for better strategies to protect fertility.