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Assisted reproductive outcomes of male cancer survivors

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of our study was to evaluate the reproductive outcome of male cancer survivors treated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using cryopreserved sperm and compare it with the same treatment in non-cancer males.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed database derived from cancer and non-cancer patients undergoing sperm cryopreservation from August 2008 to August 2012 at a university-based center. We evaluated the reproductive outcome of those cancer and non-cancer patients that had frozen sperm and returned subsequently to the clinic for assisted reproduction.

Results

We studied 272 males with cancer and 296 infertile males. The most prevalent types of cancer in our cohort were lymphoma (25.3 %), testicular cancer (19.2 %), leukemia (7.3 %), and other malignancies including sarcoma, gastrointestinal, and central nervous system malignancies (48.2 %). The use rate of cryopreserved sperm was 10.7 % for cancer patients and 30.7 % for non-cancer patients. The mean age of males with cancer who returned to the clinic for fertility treatment was 36.7 ± 6 years, and the diagnoses were testis cancer (43.4 %), lymphoma (36.9 %), leukemia (13 %), and other malignancies (6.7 %). Live birth rate of the cancer cohort was 62.1 %, which was higher than that of the normospermic non-cancer population (p < 0.0047).

Conclusions

The use rate of cryopreserved sperm from oncofertility preservation cases is at around 10 %. The live birth rate using assisted reproductive technologies among these patients is at least comparable to that of the non-cancer population.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

To our knowledge, this was the first comparative study of male cancer survivors treated with ICSI using cryopreserved sperm, which were compared to non-cancer males undergoing the same treatment. Male fertility preservation is a highly valued service that should be strongly encouraged prior to beginning cytotoxic cancer treatment. These results can help healthcare professionals in oncology to improve the quality of counseling on fertility preservation when managing young men with newly diagnosed cancer that require gonadotoxic treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Xun Zhang for his expertise in statistical analysis for all data in this study. This study was supported by a research grant from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) (SUR-103396) to Dr Peter Chan.

Conflict of interest

Ainhoa García, María Belén Herrero, Hananel Holzer, Togas Tulandi, and Peter Chan declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. MUHC Reproductive Center, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Ainhoa García, María Belén Herrero, Hananel Holzer, Togas Tulandi & Peter Chan

  2. Urology Research Department, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Peter Chan

  3. Department of Urology, McGill University Health Center, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1A1

    Peter Chan

Authors
  1. Ainhoa García
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  2. María Belén Herrero
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  3. Hananel Holzer
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  4. Togas Tulandi
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  5. Peter Chan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Chan.

Additional information

Ainhoa García and María Belén Herrero contributed equally to the development of the manuscript.

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García, A., Herrero, M.B., Holzer, H. et al. Assisted reproductive outcomes of male cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv 9, 208–214 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-014-0398-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-014-0398-7

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