Abstract

To determine the feasibility of fertility preservation in adolescent males with cancer. Large multicenter retrospective study of male patients ≤20 years from 23 centers of a national network of sperm banks over a 34-year period. Sperm banks. A total of 4,345 boys and young men aged 11 to 20 years. Age, cancer diagnosis, feasibility of sperm banking, and sperm parameters. Description of patients, and success of their fertility preservation. We observed a mean yearly increase in referred patients of 9.5% (95% confidence interval, 9.1%-9.8%) between 1973 and 2007. Over the study period, the percentage of younger cancer patients who banked their sperm increased, especially in the 11-14 year age group, rising from 1% in 1986 to 9% in 2006. We found that 4,314 patients attempted to produce a semen sample, 4,004 succeeded, and sperm was banked for 3,616. The mean total sperm count was 61.75 × 10(6) for the 11-14 year age group, and 138.81 × 10(6) for the 18-20 year age group. It was noteworthy that intercenter variations in practices involving young patients seeking to preserve their fertility before cancer therapy were observed within this national network. Our results emphasize the need for decisive changes in public health policy to facilitate the access to reproductive health-care for young cancer patients.

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