The first documented whole-ovary transplants are now on the map -- the United States map.

On February 5, a renowned infertility expert in St. Louis transplanted a whole ovary from one woman into her sister in order to enable the sibling to have children after a battle with ovarian cancer that resulted in early and permanent menopause.

Dr. Sherman Silber, who performed the same type of transplant on twins last month and has previously restored fertility via ovary tissue transplants, believes his success is unmatched. Apparently, surgeons in China have reported similar success but offer few details to support their claim. And due to a lack of published material about the case, it is believed Dr. Silber's ovary transplants may be the world's first scientifically documented cases.

Silber says whole-ovary transplants, that could potentially allow women with cancer to freeze an ovary, undergo treatment, and then have the ovary returned to restore fertility, could also one day help women who don't have cancer but experience natural premature ovarian failure, which leads to early menopause.

While both of Silber's ovary transplant patients are awaiting news about their status of their fertility, Silber awaits the long-term results of his work. Ovarian tissue transplants last a few years, but whole ovary transplants should last for decades, he says.

Women with ovulation disorders -- and related infertility problems -- have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, according to a study of more than 116,000 women.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston studied data from the Nurses' Health Study II and evaluated female nurses aged 25 to 42, tracking them every two years beginning in 1989 and ending in 2001.

Results of the study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, revealed 1,357 diagnosed cases of invasive breast cancer. Overall, women with ovulation disorders had a 25 percent less chance of developing this disease than those without the disorder.

Also detected was an even lower risk of breast cancer for women who experienced induced ovulation for treatment of infertility. This is potentially great news -- pending more research, of course -- for women worried about breast cancer implications of infertility treatment.

According to a CBC News report, ancient druids believed mistletoe had magical properties because of the way it grows, never touching the ground and without taking nourishment from the earth. However, University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff researchers are warning there is nothing magical about the use of mistletoe extract for the treatment of cancer, and in fact, it can cause harm.

Serious side effects from the injection of mistletoe extract have been reported in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal, including a case concerning a 61-year-old woman who had a tumor-like growth develop under her skin, brought on when she self-injected herself with mistletoe extract. The researchers warn that the use of mistletoe extract has been shown to cause a severe allergic reaction, breathing difficulties, joint pain and kidney failure. Some studies have shown that mistletoe might actually lead to cancer growth.

Edzard Ernst, a professor of complementary medicine at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth is quoted as saying, "The idea that mistletoe may help treat cancer is based on that the idea that mistletoe, like cancer, is a parasitic growth that eventually kills its host." The researchers of this published study indicated that there are over 30 mistletoe extract preparations available in Europe, and its use by cancer patients is well-known.

From another source, the National Cancer Institute's overview of mistletoe includes the following:

• Mistletoe is a plant that grows on several types of trees and has been used since ancient times to treat many ailments.
• Mistletoe extract has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory and to boost the immune system.
• Animal studies have suggested that mistletoe may be useful in decreasing the side effects of standard anticancer therapy.
• Many human studies using mistletoe to treat cancer have been done in Europe with unclear results, and a few clinical trials in the United States and abroad are in progress.
• Very few bad side effects have been reported from the use of mistletoe extract, though mistletoe plants and berries are poisonous to humans.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved mistletoe as a treatment for cancer or any other medical condition.
  

To read detailed information about the highlighted overview, visit the NCI's FAQ about mistletoe.

Perth Now Sunday Times is featuring a story with a surprise and happy ending. Four years ago, Nick Close was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent a year of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Close was warned that he might suffer infertility as a result of treatment. After treatment it was determined he was sterile and incapable of fathering any children. What are you going to do other than accept the reality and move on.

Off on holiday Nick and his wife Sarah Millais-Close go, and during the extended working holiday Sarah tells Nick she feels she might be pregnant. Nick, thinking this an impossibility, told her not to even waste money on a pregnancy test.

Fast forward, and Nick and Sarah Millais-Close are the proud parents of now 15-week-old baby Charles. In the world of cancer, the dark news is abundant and can be wearing on the spirit in the constant telling. Good news, less ample, is always a joy to hear and share. Isn't baby Charlie an absolute cutie! Looks like a very happy family indeed.

Chemotherapy sometimes creates a problem with infertility. I stopped having monthly periods at the age of 41 when going into early menopause after chemotherapy. Women want to be aggressive in treating their cancer but worry about how to protect themselves from becoming sterile. Especially those women who have not yet had children and are planning a family.

One option for women who are getting ready to undergo chemotherapy is to harvest some of their eggs involving freezing and storing them for later use. Lots of campaign issues against egg harvesting are actively being discussed but for women undergoing chemotherapy and still wanting to have children, this has been the number one option they have faced. Now research is being done on using a new drug to temporarily shut down the ovaries. Then when chemotherapy is completed, doctors work on restoring your periods.

Mercy medical oncologist Dr. David Riseberg of the Institute for Cancer Care at Mercy Medical Center said the idea is that putting a woman into temporary menopause will protect the ovaries from chemo. Studies about that are going on right now. "There are still questions about whether -- with these injections -- whether there is still impairment in the ability of women to have children, but we think getting the periods to return is an important first step," Dr. Riseberg said.

Several days ago, the American Society of Clinical Oncology issued new guidelines concerning the preservation of fertility during cancer treatments. Many treatments for cancer will lead to infertility if precautionary measures are not taken before treatment begins. The two methods of fertility preservation with the highest likelihood of success for cancer patients are embryo cryopreservation for women and sperm cryopreservation for men. Today, I came across a news story describing another option called ovarian transposition. In the article about dreams surviving cancer, surgeons made tiny incisions in Carrie Lintner's abdomen and gently pulled her ovaries behind her uterus, where they were held in place with a few stitches. The uterus shielded her ovaries from the damaging radiation beams from the treatment she received for her recurrent Hodgkin's lymphoma. The ovarian transposition procedure took 30 minutes and saved her ability to give birth. Ms. Lintner, who is now cancer-free, is the mother of a baby girl, Maia.

Of the many special issues facing young adults who receive a cancer diagnosis is the concern over fertility. Cancer, chemotherapy, and certain surgeries, can diminish or eliminate the possibility of conceiving a child later on in life. Both women and men can suffer temporary or permanent infertility. New guidelines set out by the American Society of Clinical Oncology hope to provide consistent and comprehensive recommendations for fertility and cancer.

• Discussion about infertility as a potential risk of cancer therapy should be initiated with patients of childbearing age as early as possible after diagnosis.
• Physicians should identify whether the patient is at risk for treatment-induced infertility and should discuss with the patient their concerns about infertility and interest in fertility preservation, as well as available treatment options, and the best time to undergo fertility preservation measures, before beginning cancer treatment.
• Patients interested and eligible for fertility preservation should be referred to reproductive specialists to facilitate decision-making and fertility treatment planning.

According to the experts, the two methods of fertility preservation with the highest likelihood of success in cancer patients are embryo cryopreservation for women and sperm cryopreservation for men. However, these procedures take time, and cancer patients considering these options need to do so as soon as possible after the cancer diagnosis.