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Hopes raised for cancer survivors who wish to be fathers
September 03, 2002A study at the University of Edinburgh into the fertility of men who have survived chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for childhood cancer and leukaemia shows that despite generally low sperm counts , the DNA carried by their sperm appears to be undamaged, posing no increased risk of cancer or congenital defects to their children. And new techniques in assisted reproduction can be safely offered to help these men become fathers.
In an article published recently in The Lancet, the research team confirmed that radiation and chemotherapy treatment for cancer may lead to infertility. They studied a group of 33 male survivors of childhood cancer, ranging in age from 16 to 35, who had been treated at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. Ten of the men were found to be infertile. Of the remainder of the men in the study, although only about half had normal concentration levels of sperm, there was no significant difference in the health or quality of the sperm the men produced, compared with sperm from a control group.
Paediatric Oncologist Dr Hamish Wallace explained that 70 per cent of all children who are diagnosed with cancer now survive, and this proportion is increasing. Because of this, attention is now being focused on long-term side effects of cancer treatment, which can include the risk of infertility.
“Our study showed that sperm concentration is reduced after treatment for cancer. However, the sperm produced seems to carry as much healthy DNA as those produced by the healthy population, suggesting that assisted conception can be considered as a treatment option for these men,” he said. “We might have expected to find that there had been increased damage to the germ cells, because of previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but it is reassuring to discover that this is not the case.”
The assisted reproduction treatment, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has enabled some men with low sperm concentrations to become fathers. This treatment involves isolating a single sperm and injecting it directly into an egg, in a test tube.
The researchers also recommend that doctors treating children with cancer should avoid, if possible, administering drugs which are known to impair fertility, if alternative treatment can be given which is just as efficient in saving life.
The study was carried out by doctors and scientists from the Department of Reproductive and Development Science at the University of Edinburgh, and the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh, University of
“Our study showed that sperm concentration is reduced after treatment for cancer. However, the sperm produced seems to carry as much healthy DNA as those produced by the healthy population, suggesting that assisted conception can be considered as a treatment option for these men,” he said. “We might have expected to find that there had been increased damage to the germ cells, because of previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but it is reassuring to discover that this is not the case.”
The assisted reproduction treatment, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has enabled some men with low sperm concentrations to become fathers. This treatment involves isolating a single sperm and injecting it directly into an egg, in a test tube.
The researchers also recommend that doctors treating children with cancer should avoid, if possible, administering drugs which are known to impair fertility, if alternative treatment can be given which is just as efficient in saving life.
The study was carried out by doctors and scientists from the Department of Reproductive and Development Science at the University of Edinburgh, and the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh, University of
Chemotherapy Current Events and Chemotherapy News RSSNew cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood cells.
Fertility procedures need not delay breast cancer treatment for younger women
A new study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that breast cancer patients under 40 years old who undergo fertility preservation do not face a significant delay in the treatment of their disease when their care is coordinated in a timely fashion.
Drugs to treat anemia in cancer patients linked to thromboembolism
Medications frequently given to cancer patients to reduce their risk of anemia are associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, according to new research led by Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.
For young boys with cancer, testicular tissue banking may be option to preserve fertility
For parents of children with cancer, the hopeful news is that pediatric survival rates have steadily improved for decades. Among the bad news-treatments that enable survival often cause infertility.
FDA approved leukemia drugs shows promise in ovarian cancer cells
The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found.
1930s drug slows tumor growth
Drugs sometimes have beneficial side effects. A glaucoma treatment causes luscious eyelashes. A blood pressure drug also aids those with a rare genetic disease.
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
New Synthetic Molecules Trigger Immune Response to HIV and Prostate Cancer
Researchers at Yale University have developed synthetic molecules capable of enhancing the body's immune response to HIV and HIV-infected cells, as well as to prostate cancer cells. Their findings, published online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could lead to novel therapeutic approaches for these diseases.
Chemo-radiation before prostate removal may prevent cancer recurrence
Researchers in the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center have found a combination of radiation therapy and chemotherapy given before prostate removal is safe and may have the potential to reduce cancer recurrence and improve patient survival.
PMH finding may help some tonsil cancer patients avoid chemotherapy
Clinical researchers at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) have confirmed that patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer ("tonsil cancer") harbour a common type of human papilloma virus (HPV16), but also that such cancers are very sensitive to radiation.
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