SPERM CRYOPRESERVATION IN MALE CANCER PATIENTS: UTILIZATION AND SPECIMEN QUALITY

e18223 Background: Cancer survivor rates have increased over the past few decades leading to a growing interest in research related to quality of life. The American society of clinical oncology’s updated guidelines of 2013 recommend that health care providers discuss the possibility of infertility with patients and present fertility preservation options to those who express interest. We attempted to explore the unique barriers that might prevent adult male cancer patients from accessing sperm cryopreservation in Pakistan Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews of male cancer patients aged 18-45 years, diagnosed with cancer of any stage or type. The interviews were audio-recorded in Urdu and translated to English, following which they were transcribed ad verbatim. The topics included quality of information received regarding the risk of infertility following chemotherapy, future reproductive choices and barriers to sperm cryopreservation Results: Out of the 25 patients interviewed, there were n = 10 cases of Leukemia, n = 3 of Lymphoma, n = 2 cases each of colorectal carcinoma and Multiple Myeloma, n = 1 case each of Neuroblastoma and Osteosarcoma, and solitary cases involving the lung, breast, thymus, brain, jaw and testis. Only n = 4 patients knew about the potential for infertility due to cancer chemotherapy, all of whom were also aware of the option of sperm cryopreservation. Two patients had their sperm preserved prior to the initiation of chemotherapy. Perceived treatment related expenses appeared to be the biggest barrier to sperm cryopreservation for n = 9 patients (36%). This was followed by lack of information which was cited by n = 8 patients (32%) and religious reasons (n = 2 patients, 8.3%). Other barriers were identified as family wishes, female gender of the doctor and patient’s preferences. Four patients stated there are no barriers. Conclusions: There is a significant lack of awareness among male cancer patients regarding threat to fertility following cancer treatment. It is imperative that physicians inform them of this and discuss treatment options, along with addressing potential barriers.

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Male cancer patient sperm cryopreservation for fertility preservation: 10-year monocentric experience

Basic and Clinical Andrology ◽

10.1186/s12610-021-00140-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Xiao Liu ◽

Bo Liu ◽

Shasha Liu ◽

Yang Xian ◽

Wenrui Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Germ Cell ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Semen Quality ◽

Sperm Quality ◽

Semen Parameters ◽

Germ Cell Tumours ◽

Sperm Cryopreservation ◽

Sperm Banking ◽

Male Cancer Patient ◽

Chinese Cancer Patients

Abstract Background Sperm cryopreservation, an effective method for preserving male fertility, is very advantageous for men suffering from cancer. Unfortunately, as both physicians and cancer patients are unaware of the possibilities for sperm cryopreservation, the data on evaluation of semen parameters and disposition of cryopreserved samples among Chinese cancer patients are scarce. Results Male tumours were classified into six major types, germ cell tumours (26 %), haematological neoplasms (28 %), head and neck cancers (19 %), thoracic tumours (4 %), abdominal tumours (10 %), and others (13 %). Haematological neoplasm was the most prevalent cancer among our cohort of patients who opted for sperm banking, followed by germ cell tumours. Patients with germ cell tumours had the lowest pre-thaw and post-thaw seminal sperm concentrations. We separately compared patients with testicular tumours, lymphoma, and leukaemia, and found that leukaemia patients had the lowest pre-thaw sperm concentrations. Most cancer patients (58 %) chose to keep their specimens stored, while 31 % chose to discard the specimens. Over the years, only 13 patients (4 %) returned to use their spermatozoa by assisted reproductive technology. Of the stored samples, patients with germ cell tumours constituted the highest proportion (29.3 %). Moreover, the percentage of haematological neoplasm patients who had no spermatozoa frozen was the highest (46.2 %). Conclusions The present data confirm the deleterious impact of various cancers on semen quality. Leukaemia was associated with the worst semen quality and the highest number of semen samples that could not be frozen. We suggest that sperm quality may have decreased even before anti-neoplastic treatment and that sperm banking before treatment should be strongly recommended for cancer patients. A sperm banking programme before gonadotoxic therapy requires close cooperation between assisted reproduction centres and cancer clinics.

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Sperm cryopreservation of male cancer patients for fertility preservation : 10-year monocentric experience

10.21203/rs.3.rs-212790/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Xiao Liu ◽

Bo Liu ◽

shasha liu ◽

yang xian ◽

wenrui zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Germ Cell ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Fertility Preservation ◽

Sperm Quality ◽

Germ Cell Tumors ◽

Semen Parameters ◽

Sperm Cryopreservation ◽

Sperm Banking ◽

Hematological Neoplasms ◽

Body Regions

Abstract Background: Semen cryopreservation is an effective method to preserve fertility, which is very important for male cancer patients. Unfortunately, due to unaware of the opportunities for sperm cryopreservation for both physicians and cancer patients, not a lot of data on evaluating the semen parameters and dispositions of the cryopreserved samples of Chinese cancer population are available in the literature. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed semen parameters as well as the clinical outcomes of assisted reproductive treatments (ART) of 339 male cancer patients of Chinese population who were referred to our center from 2010 to 2019 for fertility preservation. Results: We first classify the male tumors into six major types according to body regions. The most prevalent cancer patients who came from our cohort for sperm banking were hematological neoplasms patients, and the second cancers were germ cell tumors. Patients with germ cell tumors had the lowest pre- thaw and post-thaw concentration among the six major cancer types. However, we separately compared among testicular tumors, lymphoma and leukemia, it turned out that leukemia had the lowest pre-thaw concentration. Most cancer patients (58%) chose to go on keeping their specimens in storage. The second proportion selected to discard their specimens electively (31%). Over the years, there were only 13 patients (4%) returned to use their sperm by ART. In the storage samples, germ cell tumors were the most proportion ones (29.3%). Moreover, in the unfrozen samples, the percentage of hematological neoplasms were the most (45.5%).Conclusions: To our knowledge, we had owned the most numbers of male cancers who came to sperm bank for fertility conservation in the southwest of China. In our study we suggested that sperm quality could decrease even before antineoplastic treatment and sperm banking prior to treatment should be strongly recommended for male cancer patients.

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