Royan Institute marks significant achievement in pediatric oncofertility

TEHRAN – Three years into the treatment of two young girls diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, Royan Institute has showcased its commitment to integrating reproductive health into modern oncology practice, marking a significant achievement in pediatric oncofertility.

Royan Institute has successfully preserved ovarian function and future fertility potential in two young girls diagnosed with cancer through an advanced fertility-preserving surgical procedure; both patients have undergone normal pubertal development and continue to demonstrate healthy ovarian function, Royan.org reported in a press release on August 3.

According to the report, specialists at the Institute performed Laparoscopic Ovarian Transposition (LOT) prior to pelvic radiotherapy in two girls. The procedure was carried out to protect the ovaries from radiation exposure before cancer treatment began. Three years later, the intervention has yielded highly encouraging outcomes, with both patients maintaining normal ovarian function and preserving their future reproductive potential.

Firouzeh Ghaffari, a gynecologist, obstetrician, and fellowship-trained infertility specialist at Royan Institute, explained that both patients were pre-pubertal at the time of their cancer diagnosis and were scheduled to undergo pelvic radiotherapy. Because pelvic irradiation can cause severe and irreversible ovarian damage, resulting in premature ovarian insufficiency and permanent infertility, the ovaries were laparoscopically repositioned outside the radiation field before treatment commenced.

“Now, three years after surgery, both girls have entered puberty spontaneously, experience regular menstrual cycles, and clinical assessments confirm that ovarian function has been successfully preserved,” Ghaffari said. “Had this procedure not been performed, the likelihood of permanent ovarian failure and the loss of their future fertility would have been exceedingly high.”

Emphasizing the importance of quality of life in cancer survivorship, Ghaffari noted that advances in oncology have significantly improved long-term survival rates. “As survival outcomes continue to improve, fertility preservation, particularly for children and adolescents, has become an integral component of modern cancer care. Today, our responsibility extends beyond treating the disease; we must also protect patients’ future quality of life, including their opportunity to have biological children.”

She further stressed that this successful experience highlights the importance of early multidisciplinary planning and close collaboration among oncology, surgical, and reproductive medicine teams. Such coordinated care makes it possible not only to treat the malignancy effectively but also to preserve patients’ prospects for parenthood later in life.

This achievement exemplifies Royan Institute’s advanced expertise in oncofertility and fertility preservation for patients undergoing cancer treatment. It also represents an important step forward in strengthening comprehensive supportive care for children and adolescents with malignant diseases, reaffirming the Institute’s commitment to integrating reproductive health into modern oncology practice.

Royan Institute was established in 1991 by the late Dr. Saeid Kazemi Ashtiani and a group of researchers and physicians in the Iran University of Medical Sciences of the Academic Center for Education, Culture, and Research (ACECR) as an outpatient surgery center to provide medical services to infertile couples, as well as research and training in reproductive sciences.

Reproductive Biomedicine and Stem Cells Biology and Technology has been demonstrated to be one of the most successful experiences of scientific gathering in Iran and West Asia since 2000.

In 2002, the research fields at Royan Institute also extended into stem cell studies. Afterward, the research findings were adjusted for application in regenerative medicine and cell therapy approaches. After three decades, the Royan Institute focuses on increasing the success rate of infertility treatment alongside embryo health and the level of public health through cell therapy clinical services.