Objective: To compare sperm count of cancer patients with health men, to analyze possible relation of sperm pathology and diagnosis of malignant disease and present experience of our cryopreservation programme for cancer patients.
Design: Retrospective clinical study.
Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Methods: 215 patients (age 25.4 +/- 5.6 years) were referred to our unit by oncology specialists for semen cryopreservation before cancer treatment during 1995-2001. Sperm samples were analysed according to guidelines of WHO. Richardson's medium and Planer Kryo 10 were used for standard cryopreservation. Sperm count results were compared to control group of 84 men (23.1 +/- 3.6 year) examined as possible sperm donors. Program SPSS version 9 was used for statistical analysis. Standard intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using frozen spermatozoa was used for infertility treatment following malignant disease recovery.
Results: Testicular cancer was diagnosed in 115 (53.5%) patients, malignant disease of lymphatic and haemopoetic tissue in 75 (34.9%) cases--out of them 35 (16.3%) Hodgkin's lymphoma. Twelve men (5.6%) were treated for osteosarcoma and 13 for other malignant disease. Only 2.8% patients had normospermia. Severe oligospermia < 5 mil/ml was found in 73 men (33.9%) including 22 cases of azoospermia (10.2%) and 12 cases (5.6%) of cryptozoospermia. 138 (64.2%) patients had asthenospermia < 10% of progressive motility, 49 (22.8%) had terratozoospermia < 10% spermatozoa with standard WHO morphology. Sperm concentration, progressive motility and morphology were in cancer patients significantly lower (P < 0.001) than in control group. Men with testicular cancer had significantly higher frequency of severe sperm pathology. Only 4 patients have returned for assisted reproduction treatment. In all cases ICSI was used, 1 pregnancy and delivery was achieved. During more than 4 years after cryopreservation died 16.6% of patients.
Conclusion: Cancer patients has significantly higher frequency of severe sperm pathologies than healthy men. The most severe sperm pathologies are among men with testicular cancer. Only minority of patients return for fertility treatment. Cryopreserved spermatozoa of cancer patients are able to initiate pregnancy by assisted reproduction techniques.