Documenting Advancements in Surgical Oncology

The Surgical Oncology Program team at Children’s Hospital Colorado is working to flesh out the current climate of pediatric oncofertility care in North America — something that hasn’t been documented on this level before. Pediatric surgeon Kristine Corkum, MD, is leading this effort alongside Jonathan Roach, MD.

Oncofertility helps patients minimize the negative effects of cancer treatment on the reproductive system and fertility, preserving the possibility of having children down the road and focusing on quality of life for cancer survivors.

The multicenter, retrospective study proposed by the Children’s Colorado team was selected to be one of the main research focus areas for 2025 by the Pediatric Surgical Oncology Research Collaborative (PSORC), a group of more than 50 institutions across North America that provides oncology care for pediatric patients. Every year, the collaborative picks novel research studies to commit to as a group and gathers data from across the continent.

“We are very excited to work with PSORC because this data, in terms of how we practice pediatric oncofertility care here in North America, does not exist,” says Dr. Corkum.

“It’s one of those areas in comprehensive oncology care that’s still up and coming. There are many nuances to oncofertility care that we don’t have standard practices for currently,” Dr. Corkum says. “We’re hoping that this study will give us some insight into what’s happening so then we can help improve the delivery of care across the country.”

The study will explore the granular details of oncofertility care in North America — what hospitals are doing now, how they approach stratifying patients, how they counsel families, and when they perform fertility preservation procedures. The team is hoping to discover best practices and create a standard of care moving forward, since this area of care differs greatly from hospital to hospital.