Fertility preservation in male cancer patients. Counseling and reproductive outcomes.

Introduction: Advances in cancer treatments have determined an increase in survival rates. However, these lifesaving therapies may have a negative impact on reproductive health. To diminish the infertility risk; different fertility preservation strategies have been designed. Sperm freezing is the gold standard fertility preservation method in the case of post-pubertal men. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the fertility status of Uruguayan male cancer survivors who have gone through sperm freezing, as well as to assess oncofertility counseling received by these patients. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional, observational, and transversal study. A survey was conducted on male cancer survivors who cryopreserved sperm between 1985 and 2021 in "Reprovita Lab and Biobank" which is the only sperm bank in this country. Results: One hundred thirty-five participants answered the survey. At the time of diagnosis, the mean age of patients was 28.8 ± 6.4 years old. Testicular was the most frequent type of cancer (64%). Only, 12% (n = 15) already had children at the time of diagnosis. Among the interviewed survivors, 50% (n = 62) attempted to conceive after cancer treatment, and 68% (n = 42) achieved natural pregnancy. Patients who did not achieve spontaneous conception (n = 11), used their cryopreserved samples, and 45.4% achieved pregnancy. About 86% (n = 107) of survivors believed that the timing of oncofertility referrals was appropriate and 97% considered that having the possibility of protecting their fertility was very important. Eighty percent (n = 101), were advised by their attending physicians, 14% (n = 18) sought advice from family members or friends, and 4% (n = 5) from oncofertility specialists. Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the reproductive outcomes of male cancer survivors in our country and the region. Most of the interviewed survivors considered fertility preservation as a positive initiative, independent of their reproductive outcomes, reflecting the importance of fertility preservation counseling as one of the most important aspects for futurequality of life of young cancer patients.

The Uruguayan semen donor population: A twenty-eight-year retrospective study.

Several studies have reported a global decline in seminal quality over the years. The objective of this study was to describe the semen donor population of Uruguay through comparing data of successive samples banked by the same donors and the analysis of their semen and physical characteristics, ancestry origin and educational level. A total of 3,449 ejaculated samples collected from 71 donors, cryobanked between 1989 and March 2017 at Fertilab, were analysed. Results revealed a mean age of 23.90 ± 3.98 years, an average weight of 74.95 ± 1.09 kg and a mean height of 1.78 ± 0.06 m. The majority of the donors trace their origin to Europe (74.65%, 53/71) and 66.19% (47/71) have a level of education higher than secondary school. We observed longitudinal differences in two parameters, that is sperm concentration and semen volume. Sperm concentration declined, while semen volume increased significantly over the 28-year period. The results of the present study are in accordance with that of previous articles that also reported a decline in sperm concentration over time. However, no differences were observed in total sperm number per ejaculate due to the increase in semen volume values, thus reflecting no real changes in sperm production over time.

A retrospective study on sperm banking: a Uruguayan experience.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of homologous sperm banking in Uruguay. METHODS: A retrospective investigation was performed on data collected between 2013 and 2015. Reasons for sperm banking, patient age, pre-freeze and post-thaw semen parameters, and recovery rates were analyzed. RESULTS: 623 samples were cryobanked between 2013 and 2015. Only 324 samples were considered for analysis after selection based on inclusion criteria. In most cases the samples were stored because the patients were undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment (n=190; 58,64%) or for oncological reasons (n=113; 34,88%). The median age of bankers was 34 years. In the cancer group, 61.95% (n=70) of the subjects had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Medians of semen parameters for both groups were above the lower reference limits dictated by the . In fresh samples, a significant difference was observed in progressive motility (47% vs. 56%) between ART and oncological patients. After thawing, total motility (27% vs. 32%), progressive motility (19% vs. 22%), and vitality (48% vs. 56%) differed significantly between ART and oncological bankers. CONCLUSION: Semen banking has been performed successfully in Uruguay and outcomes are on par with international standards. Surprisingly, the semen parameters of the cancer group were nearly normal.