Globozoospermia (GZ) is a rare disorder found in less than 0.1% of infertile men in which spermatozoa lack acrosomes necessary for penetration of an oocyte. While methods have been demonstrated to allow globozoospermic men to achieve a viable pregnancy with their partner, the Wold Health Organization considers identifying and reporting GZ on semen analysis to be 'important'. Our study aims to determine if and to what extent in vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratories nationwide recognize and report GZ on semen analysis reports. We constructed an IRBapproved survey sent nationwide to IVF and andrology clinic laboratory directors listed by the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology and/or the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Results from the survey were de-identified for analysis. A total of 490 surveys were sent with a response rate of 10% (n = 51).Most respondents (66%) practiced in a private, rather than academic, setting. A majority of respondents were confident in their technicians' knowledge of GZ (86%) and ability to identify it on a sample (94%). However, only half of respondents noted a space to report the concern for GZ to the ordering physician, and 25% of respondents did not feel their clinic was able to identify patients where there is a concern for GZ. Similarly, 84% of respondents did not report a percent of acrosome-deficient sperm. Less than half of respondents reported that their clinic has previously diagnosed GZ. Though the majority of respondents felt that their laboratory technicians would be able to identify GZ, a significant minority felt that their clinic did not have means to be able to report concern for GZ. This may be due to the absence of a proper channel to report a concern for GZ, a lack of knowledge about the condition, or failure to distinguish GZ from a broader reported percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm. Given evidence that the diagnosis of GZ may be under-reported in the United States, there should be a national standard for laboratory technicians to be trained to recognize GZ and be able to report their suspicion to the ordering clinician.
found in 367/608 (60%) of the White men and 104/147 (70.8%) of AA men in our series (p[0.02). 224/608 (36.8%) of White men and 74/ 147 (50.3%) of AA men had a Gleason score of 7-10 (p[0.003). Age, DRE status, PIRADS score, and the incidence of Gleason 6 PCa were not found to be significantly different by race. 163/608 (26.8%) of White men and 20/147 (13.6%) of AA men had a PSA upon presentation of 0-3.9 ng/ml (p[0.001). The PSA levels of 4.0-9.9 ng/ml and PSA > 10 ng/ ml at presentation were not significantly different. Of the 73/828 (8.8%) of men who identify as not White and not Black no significant difference was found for any tested factor but interestingly 19/73 (26%) presented with a PSA between 0-3.9 ng/ml versus Black men (p[0.02) which was almost identical to the effect seen relative to White men.CONCLUSIONS: In this dataset, it appears that AA men present with a higher PSA than White men. It is likely that this is related to disparities in access to care rather than biological intrinsic factors. Also, we did observe a higher incidence of Gleason 7-10 PCa in AA men, which one would expect in a cohort of patients who presented for biopsy in the community with a significantly higher PSA at initial presentation. Continuing education of primary care providers regarding the importance of PSA testing in the AA community should be emphasized by both the urological and primary care professional medical societies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.