Fertility preservation in males with cancer of trends, region development, and efficacy in mainland China from 16 regions Chinese sperm banks

Xiao Liu; Qiling Wang; Huiqiang Sheng; Xiaowei Liang; Zhiqiang Wang; Tianqing Meng; Yushan Li; Hao Dong; Wenbing Zhu; Jigao Yang; Zhou Zhang; Xianglong Jiang; Aiping Zhang; Zuowen Liang; Xiaojin He; Chunying Song; Fuping Li; Xinzong Zhang

doi:10.1007/s10815-024-03121-w

Fertility preservation in males with cancer of trends, region development, and efficacy in mainland China from 16 regions Chinese sperm banks

J Assist Reprod Genet. 2024 Apr 27. doi: 10.1007/s10815-024-03121-w. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiao Liu^#^{1

2}, Qiling Wang^#³, Huiqiang Sheng⁴, Xiaowei Liang⁵, Zhiqiang Wang⁶, Tianqing Meng⁷, Yushan Li⁸, Hao Dong⁹, Wenbing Zhu¹⁰, Jigao Yang¹¹, Zhou Zhang¹², Xianglong Jiang¹³, Aiping Zhang¹⁴, Zuowen Liang¹⁵, Xiaojin He¹⁶, Chunying Song¹⁷, Fuping Li^{18

19}, Xinzong Zhang²⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Andrology/Sichuan Human Sperm Bank, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China.
³ NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics Guangdong Provincial Reproductive, Science Institute (Guangdong Provincial Fertility Hospital), Guangzhou, 510062, Guangdong, China.
⁴ Zhejiang Mater Child and Reproductive Health Center, Hangzhou, 310000, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ Human Sperm Bank of National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing, 100098, China.
⁶ The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Guilin, 530021, Guangxi, China.
⁷ Hubei Province Human Sperm Bank, Center for Reproductive Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430010, Hubei, China.
⁸ Henan Human Sperm Bank, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450014, Henan, China.
⁹ Department of Urological Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650032, Yunnan, China.
¹⁰ Reproductive & Genetic Hospital of CITIC-Xiangya, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China.
¹¹ Chongqing Research Institute for Population and Family Planning Science and Technology, Human Sperm Bank, Chongqing, 401121, China.
¹² Northwest Women's and Children's Hospital, Xian, 610045, Shaanxi, China.
¹³ Nanchang Reproductive Hospital, Nanchang, 330001, Jiangxi, China.
¹⁴ Human Sperm Bank of The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730099, Gansu, China.
¹⁵ The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China.
¹⁶ Anhui Provincial Human Sperm Bank, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, Anhui, China.
¹⁷ Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Sperm Bank, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi, China.
¹⁸ Department of Andrology/Sichuan Human Sperm Bank, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China. lfpsnake@scu.edu.cn.
¹⁹ Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China. lfpsnake@scu.edu.cn.
²⁰ NHC Key Laboratory of Male Reproduction and Genetics Guangdong Provincial Reproductive, Science Institute (Guangdong Provincial Fertility Hospital), Guangzhou, 510062, Guangdong, China. 13857170787@139.com.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 38676843
DOI: 10.1007/s10815-024-03121-w

Abstract

Purpose: Male cancer survivors experience confusion about fertility following cancer treatment. The aims of this study were to evaluate survivors' semen quality in different tumor type groups in China and to analyze the current situation and challenges of male cancer patients with sperm cryopreservation.

Methods: This was a multicenter retrospective study of male patients with cancer who underwent sperm cryopreservation in 16 regions of the national sperm banks over an 11-year period from 2010 to 2020.

Results: The number of male cancer patients with sperm cryopreservation showed an overall upward trend. The development of male cancer fertility preservation (FP) in the eastern, central, and western regions of Chinese displayed imbalance. There are seven tumor types for sperm preservation in the top incidence ten tumor types, including lymphoma, leukemia, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, sarcoma, thyroid cancer, and brain tumor. Moreover, nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a high incidence rate in China, which is related to high sperm preservation rate, different from other countries. The most percentage of males receiving sperm cryopreservation in the testicular cancers (15-39 years old) of China in 2020 was 5.55%, 1.29% in the lymphoma, and 0.39% in the leukemia. According to the type of cancer, a statistically significant lower pre-sperm density, total sperm output, and post-sperm density was observed in testicular cancers. It is worth noting that the prevalence of azoospermia 22.2% in leukemia patients attribute to urgent treatment before sperm cryopreservation. Disposition of cryopreserved sperm categories included continued storage (47.2%), discarded (9%), death (0.9%), and use (3.7%).

Conclusion: This study provides the first comprehensive national statistical census and review of fertility preservation in male cancer patients with respect to trends, prevalence, and cancer types. The development of male cancer fertility preservation in China is imbalanced and percentage of males receiving sperm cryopreservation in the adolescent and young adult cancers was low. Sixteen human sperm banks from China analyze current problems and challenges, and then prioritize steps toward the achievement of the FP strategy framework for Healthy China 2030.

Keywords: Fertility preservation; Male cancer; Semen quality; Sperm cryopreservation.

Abstract

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