The feasibility of assessing women's perceptions of the risks and benefits of fertility drug therapy in relation to ovarian cancer risk
Rosen, B.; Irvine, J.; Ritvo, P.; Shapiro, H.; Stewart, D.; Reynolds, K.; Robinson, G.; Thomas, J.; Neuman, J.; Murphy, J.
Fertility and Sterility 68(1): 90-94
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0015-0282 PMID: 9207590 DOI: 10.1016/s0015-0282(97)81481-1Document Number: 232746
Objective: To determine the feasibility of asking women undergoing fertility treatment the maximum increased risk of ovarian cancer they would be willing to tolerate in order to take ovulation-induction drugs. Design: A prospective pilot study of women attending fertility clinics over a 2-month period. Setting: Two tertiary care fertility clinics in Toronto. Patient(s): Sixty-one English-speaking women were approached and 85% (n = 52) were enrolled. Intervention(s): A self-administered questionnaire with fertility-specific questions. Thirty-eight women also were asked to complete standardized scales of anxiety and optimism. Main Outcome Measure(s): Women's report of the maximum level of lifetime risk of ovarian cancer they were willing to tolerate in order to undergo fertility treatment. Result(s): Seventy-nine percent were willing to accept an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Only 24% understood that treatment for ovarian cancer usually was not curative. Conclusion(s): A majority of patients were willing to tolerate a modest increase in their lifetime risk of ovarian cancer because of fertility treatment, most basing their estimate of acceptable risk on limited awareness of the issue.