Sperm and testicular tissue cryopreservation and assisted reproductive technology outcomes in male cancer patients: a 15-year experience

Abstract

Objective: To explore the characteristics of cancer patients who cryopreserved sperm/testicular tissue samples in the Cryobank of Charite-Universitatsmedizin Berlin between 2004 and 2019, and the ART utilization rate with associated outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective data were available for 506 cancer patients, of which 46 (9.1%) had used their samples for artificial reproductive technologies (ART). Corresponding cycle information was collected from external fertility centers.

Results: Our cohort included 53/506 (10.5%) patients aged < 18 years at diagnosis. While adolescents and adults mainly banked sperm, adolescents showed higher rates of testicular tissue cryopreservation before (11.8%, 6/51 vs. 6.4%, 26/406) and after treatment (16.7%, 4/24 vs. 7.8%, 13/167). At study conduction, storage had been ended for 44.8% (269/601) of samples. The majority of samples used for ART were requested within the first 3 years after cryopreservation (71.5%, 28/39, range = 0-12 years). Pregnancy rate was 51.4% (19/37 cycles), resulting in 11 singleton births, 3 twin pairs, and 4 miscarriages.

Conclusion: With the new advantage of public health insurance coverage of fertility preservation (FP) in Germany, an increased utilization has already been noticed in our center, emphasizing the necessity of further knowledge for individual counseling. Adolescent cancer patients need to be addressed specifically, as these patients show especially low cryopreservation rates.