Sperm banking offers male cancer survivors a chance to father children of their own
Sperm freezing and banking
has turned out to be an effective way to preserve
fertility in adolescents and young adult (AYA) males suffering from cancer, according to a study undertaken by Hamilton Health Sciences, a major teaching hospital affiliated to McMaster University.
With a view to investigating the benefits of proactively preserving sperm prior to the start of cancer treatment, 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 hands.
Lead author Dr. Michael Neal, Laboratory Director at the Centre for Reproductive Care, notes that even though sperm freezing is shown to be highly effective, it is an under-utilized option of fertility preservation for young male cancer patients.
The study, published in the journal Cancer, showed that only 18 percent of the patients opted to bank their sperm before undergoing cancer treatment.
It was also observed that patients who used their frozen sperm sample after overcoming their cancer, had a fertility success rate of 36 per cent using intrauterine insemination (injecting the sperm into the uterus), and 50 percent using in vitro fertilization (fertilizing the egg in a lab and then transferring the embryo to the uterus) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (injecting the sperm directly into the egg).
"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," said Dr. Neal.
"Childhood cancer treatment has improved dramatically in the last decade, resulting in a greater number of survivors. 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," added Dr. Neal.
Another important component of the study addressed the quality of life of young people affected by cancer.
"When adolescents and young adults are diagnosed with cancer, every aspect of their lives is influenced, including their physical, emotional, economic, spiritual, interpersonal, psychosocial, and sexual well-being," said Dr. Ronald Barr, Chief of Service, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, McMaster Children''s Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at McMaster University.
The study demonstrated that in clinical practice, the factors of sexual well-being and the effects of the treatment on reproduction might not be addressed adequately by caregivers. The necessity for education of both health care providers and patients about this option is an essential outcome of this study.
"Consequently, more research is already in progress or in the planning stages. Given the results of this study, our goal is to improve awareness of sperm banking and future fertility treatments that may impact our patients'' quality of life," said Kim Nagel, Research Nurse, Pediatric Oncology, McMaster Children''s Hospital.