Sperm banking before treatment preserves fertility in young male cancer patients

Offers male cancer survivors a chance to father children of their own, after potentially fertility-damaging treatment

A recent study at Hamilton Health Sciences proves that sperm freezing and banking is an effective way to preserve fertility in adolescents and young adult (AYA) males with cancer.

Researchers at the Centre for Reproductive Care, McMaster Children’s Hospital and the Juravinski Cancer Centre, all members of the Hamilton Health Sciences family of health care facilities, joined forces to investigate the benefits of proactively preserving sperm prior to starting cancer treatment in order to allow male cancer patients the opportunity to father biological children in the future.

In AYA male cancer patients, surgery, radiation and chemotherapy may cause transient or permanent infertility by affecting either ejaculatory or erectile function or by impairing the generation of sperm. (“The effects of cancer and cancer treatments on male reproductive function” by Drs Magelssen, Brydoy and Fossa).

According to a new study to be published in the September 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, and available on-line today, lead author Michael Neal, Laboratory Director at the Centre for Reproductive Care, and his co-investigators, found that even though sperm freezing is shown to be highly effective, it is an underutilized option of fertility preservation for young male cancer patients.

The study, “Effectiveness of Sperm Banking in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer – A Regional Experience,” showed that only 18 percent of the patients in the study opted to bank their sperm before cancer treatment. Those who used their frozen sperm sample after overcoming their cancer had a fertility success rate of 36 percent using intrauterine insemination (IUI – injecting the sperm into the uterus) and 50 percent using in vitro fertilization (IVF – fertilizing the egg in a lab and then transferring the embryo to the uterus) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI – injecting the sperm directly into the egg).

A vital component in the efficacy of the study was the collaborative approach taken by the different groups involved, including the Pediatric Oncology team and the Centre for Reproductive Care.

“The teams involved in the study are highly specialized and unique individually,” said Dr. Neal. “From saving lives to creating new life, the collaboration between these two disciplines provides an exciting opportunity for improved quality of life among adolescent and young adult cancer survivors in the Hamilton region.

“Childhood cancer treatment has improved dramatically in the last decade resulting in a greater number of survivors,” said Dr. Neal. “At the same time, improvements in the field of assisted conception are providing a great chance for male cancer survivors to father children of their own after potentially fertility-damaging treatment.”