Do malignant diseases affect semen quality? Sperm parameters of men with cancers

Abstract

The advent of modern treatments together with the improvement of the surgical techniques has significantly increased 5-year survival rates of young patients with cancer. Although the deleterious effects of chemotherapy and radiation are well documented, controversies exist about the effect of cancer itself on semen parameters before treatment. We collected data on 236 patients representative of different types of cancers reoffered at our institution for sperm cryopreservation with the aim to correlate the pre-freeze semen parameters with type of cancer, disease stage and with semen quality of 102 fertile and healthy men. The median baseline semen parameters of all our patients with cancer are placed above the 5th percentile of the World Health Organization reference value, but the type of cancer may impact the sperm parameters. In testicular tumours and in Hodgkin lymphoma, we show a semen concentration statistically lower than in the fertile population, while in patients with other cancers, there is no difference with the healthy men. We found no correlation between semen quality and disease stage. Eighty-six per cent of our patients do not have children at the time of semen cryopreservation, and the only established clinical option for preserving fertility of these men is cryopreservation of spermatozoa.

Genitourinary cancer patients have worse baseline semen parameters than healthy sperm bankers

“…To date, however, there is no clear consensus; controversy remains over whether the type of malignancy affects semen quality (Williams et al, 2009) and even over whether men with cancer have worse semen parameters as compared to men without cancer (Degl'Innocenti et al, 2013;Williams, 2013). Some studies have linked testicular cancer and lymphoproliferative disorders to worse sperm concentration (Caponecchia et al, 2016), total sperm count (Bizet et al, 2012), and post-thaw motile count (Hotaling et al, 2013). van Casteren et al (2010) found that nearly two-thirds of men referred for sperm cryopreservation prior to chemotherapy and radiotherapy had abnormal semen parameters; men with testicular cancer had significantly lower sperm concentration as compared to men with other types of malignancy.…”

“…While the spermatotoxic potential of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy is well recognized, the effect of malignancy itself on male fertility prior to oncologic treatment is less clearly understood. It has been suggested that as many as two-thirds of cancer patients have impaired fertility at baseline (van Casteren et al, 2010), but studies have reported heterogeneous findings as to whether and how specific types of malignancy are linked to diminished semen parameters (Auger et al, 2016;Caponecchia et al, 2016;Paoli et al, 2016;DiNofia et al, 2017;MacKenna et al, 2017). This study investigated whether sperm bankers with various forms of malignancy demonstrated worse baseline semen parameters as compared to individuals with non-oncologic indications for banking.…”

“…It has been suggested that as many as two-thirds of cancer patients have impaired fertility at baseline (van Casteren et al, 2010), but studies have reported heterogeneous findings as to whether and how specific types of malignancy are linked to diminished semen parameters (Auger et al, 2016;Caponecchia et al, 2016;Paoli et al, 2016;DiNofia et al, 2017;MacKenna et al, 2017). It has been suggested that as many as two-thirds of cancer patients have impaired fertility at baseline (van Casteren et al, 2010), but studies have reported heterogeneous findings as to whether and how specific types of malignancy are linked to diminished semen parameters (Auger et al, 2016;Caponecchia et al, 2016;Paoli et al, 2016;DiNofia et al, 2017;MacKenna et al, 2017).…”

Effect of orchiectomy on sperm functional aspects and semen oxidative stress in men with testicular tumours

“…According to the literature, this is possibly due to the following reasons: (a) an increase in blood flow due to neovascularisation that determines an increase in testicle temperature, (b) the production of hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) by the tumour may inhibit spermatogenesis, and (c) the induction of anti‐sperm antibodies (Fosså & Kravdal, ; Kuczyk, Machtens, Bokemeyer, Schultheiss, & Jonas, ). In a study performed by Caponecchia et al (), semen parameters were compared between men with testicular cancer (men who provide semen samples only after orchiectomy) and fertile men. The authors observed a decrease in sperm concentration, total sperm count and progressive motility in men with testicular cancer (Caponecchia et al, ).…”

The Effects of Cancer Therapy on Women’s Fertility: What do We Know Now?

“…In men, it was found that patients suffering from Hodgkin lymphoma and testicular tumors have a semen concentration statistically lower than in the fertile population, while in patients with other cancers, there is no difference with the healthy men [18]. In female cancer patients, a significantly lower ovarian reserve was found, when the patient suffered from Hodgkin's lymphoma.…”