What's New: Hot Topics - Sperm Banking
Study indicates taxane-based chemotherapy may be gonadotoxic for males.
MedWire (9/28, Grasmo) reported that, according to a study published online Sept. 17 in the journal Fertility and Sterility, "taxane-based chemotherapy induces a reduction of inhibin B and a reciprocal elevation of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), which are alterations associated with significant gonadal damage." Researchers from Greece's Athens University School of Medicine "performed blood sampling and testicular ultrasonography in 40 male patients, aged an average of 53.1 years, before and after completion of treatment with docetaxel or paclitaxel...combined with gemcitabine or carboplatin." The team found that "after chemotherapy, serum inhibin B levels significantly decreased from a median of 97.7 to 40.1 pg/ml." In addition, 19 of 20 patients demonstrated "other markers of early gonadotoxicity," such as "an increase in FSH levels (6.7 to 10.3 IU/l), and a significant decrease in bilateral testicular volume....after completion of chemotherapy."
Many oncologists not following ASCO fertility preservation guidelines for cancer patients, study indicates.
Medscape (6/1, Nelson) reported, "Many oncologists are not following fertility preservation guidelines and are unaware of current guidelines regarding fertility preservation for cancer patients, according to the results of a survey presented...at the American Society of Clinical Oncology" annual meeting. The guidelines "recommend that oncologists 'address the possibility of infertility with patients treated during their reproductive years and be prepared to discuss possible fertility preservation options or refer appropriate and interested patients to reproductive specialists." For the study, researchers surveyed 613 physicians "with a 33 percent response rate among oncologists." They found that "the majority of oncologists (79 percent) reported discussing fertility preservation with patients of childbearing age, but less than 25 percent referred such patients to reproductive specialists or reported distributing educational materials regarding fertility preservation." But, those "oncologists who were knowledgeable about fertility preservation were 2.6 times more likely to discuss the impact of treatment on fertility and were 1.9 times more likely to feel comfortable discussing it."