Cancer Management and Research (Jul 2024)
An Assessment of Cryopreserved Semen and Testicular Tissue Collected Before and After Cancer Treatment Initiation
Abstract
Marta Julia Fernández-González,1 Anne-Catherine Radauer-Plank,1 Anja Borgmann-Staudt,1 Waldemar Geiger,2 Irena Goranova,2 Stephanie Klco-Brosius,1 Bernhard Ralla,2 Cornelia Stelzer,2 Ina Wilkemeyer,2 Magdalena Balcerek1,3 1Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Cooperation member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, Berlin, Germany; 2Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Cooperate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Clinic for Urology, Berlin, Germany; 3Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, GermanyCorrespondence: Ina Wilkemeyer, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Clinic for Urology, Cryobank, Augustenburger Platz 1, Berlin, 13353, Germany, Tel +49 30 450 615034, Email [email protected]: This retrospective cohort study assessed semen and testicular tissue quality from adult and adolescent cancer patients who had samples cryopreserved in the Cryobank of Charité-Universitätsmedizin before and/or after cancer treatment.Methods and Materials: Medical and cryopreservation data for all samples stored between 03/2004 and 05/2019 were collected retrospectively.Results: We included information on 601 samples cryopreserved from 506 cancer patients for whom oncologic treatment data were available. The majority of the samples were cryopreserved prior to cancer treatment (460/600, 77%, median 5 days before treatment). Semen quality had a predisposed reduction in those collected from adolescents with testicular and/or hematological malignancies. Analyses of the 140 (23%) samples cryopreserved after treatment initiation (median of 84 days) revealed decreased median concentration and motility following high gonadotoxic-risk treatment. Rate of oligoasthenozoospermia was comparable in samples collected prior to treatment with those provided during follow-up spermiograms within 1 year after treatment initiation (45.5% vs 45.5%). However, an increase was seen in samples collected 1– 2 (9.1% to 90.9%) and 2– 3 (50.0% to 100.0%) years after treatment initiation.Conclusion: Cancer diagnosis and treatment may impair spermatogenesis; therefore, patient counseling prior to cancer treatment by an oncologist and/or fertility specialist is crucial.Keywords: cancer, fertility preservation, adolescent, men
