REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE 

Minerva Ginecologica 2012 December;64(6):461-75

Copyright © 2012 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Fertility preservation in the male: from childhood to adulthood

Masson P. ¹, Gerber J. A. ², Brannigan R. E. ¹ ✉

¹ Northwestern University Feinberg, School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA; ² University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

Approximately 50% of males will develop cancer during their lifetime. In the past, oncologic therapies have largely been focused primarily on cure of the underlying malignancy. With improvements in both diagnostic modalities and treatments, pediatric and adult cancer patients are routinely surviving their disease. For this large group of patients, survivorship issues have become a major concern. Central among these survivorship issues is fertility. For males diagnosed with a malignancy, impaired reproductive potential is often noted even before any cancer therapy has been initiated. Furthermore, cancer treatments, in the form of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, can all have potentially deleterious and lasting effects on male reproductive capability. For these reasons, a change in oncologic treatment paradigms has occurred. Now, the offer of fertility preservation to males diagnosed with cancer is a key component of comprehensive oncologic care.