Epigenetic Factors and ncRNAs in Testicular Cancer

Abstract

Testicular cancer is the most prevalent tumor among males aged 15 to 35, resulting in a significant number of newly diagnosed cases and fatalities annually. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have emerged as key regulators in various cellular processes and pathologies, including testicular cancer. Their involvement in gene regulation, coding, decoding, and overall gene expression control suggests their potential as targets for alternative treatment approaches for this type of cancer. Furthermore, epigenetic modifications, such as histone modifications, DNA methylation, and the regulation by microRNA (miRNA), have been implicated in testicular tumor progression and treatment response. Epigenetics may also offer critical insights for prognostic evaluation and targeted therapies in patients with testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT). This comprehensive review aims to present the latest discoveries regarding the involvement of some proteins and ncRNAs, mainly miRNAs and lncRNA, in the epigenetic aspect of testicular cancer, emphasizing their relevance in pathogenesis and their potential, given the fact that their specific expression holds promise for prognostic evaluation and targeted therapies.

Semen Cryopreservation to Expand Male Fertility in Cancer Patients: Intracase Evaluation of Semen Quality

“…Additionally, considering a comparable percentage of recovery among the subgroups, particular consideration should be given towards TC patients characterized by halved baseline sperm concentrations compared to HC or OC subgroups, predicting in turn a lower absolute recovery. TC patients are characterized by a direct endogenous exposure of germ cells to the tumor environment enriched by high levels of inflammatory mediators and ROS, and this might greatly affect sperm cells' global viability due to aberrant epigenomic signals affecting the biological tissue age compared to the classical effects of chronological aging [28,29].…”

“…The main alterations in semen parameters at the time of cancer diagnosis are still being studied by various authors with the aim of improving personalized reproductive chances and preserving male fertility [22,[30][31][32]. Various hypotheses have been formulated, and considering testicular tumors, these alterations could be related to the histological type and probably to three main factors: i) biochemical and epigenetic direct damages from the cancer environment to the testicular parenchyma and spermatozoa (also mediated by miRNA and ncRNA); ii) altered endocrine balance; and iii) autoimmunity effects [28,33,34]. As hematological and solid cancer is concerned, the causative alterations in the spermatozoa functions might specifically be due to systemic effects, hypothesized to most likely increase pro-inflammatory circulating cytokines and interleukins in this class of patients [35,36].…”