[An analysis of our experience in cryopreservation of semen from cancer patients]. / Análisis de nuestra experiencia en la criopreservación del semen en pacientes oncológicos.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics of patients with oncological problems who were users of the sperm bank, as well as use of cryopreserved semen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was made of all cryopreserved semen samples from males diagnosed with cancer from April 1992 to October 2007 at the province of Las Palmas. RESULTS: One hundred and one male patients with cancer were referred to the sperm bank before cancer therapy. Eighty percent of them were contacted by telephone. Mean freezing age was 25 years. Forty-one percent of patients had testicular tumors. Thirty-three percent had no prior biological children. Only one patient had known fertility problems before treatment. Sixty-seven percent of patients were warned by the healthcare team about the possibility of infertility at the time of cancer diagnosis. Only 1% of samples were not adequate for cryopreservation. The frozen sample was used by 4% of the patients. When patients were asked about future use of semen, 63% of them wanted to continue with semen cryopreservation, as compared to 17% who had no interest in having offspring in the future. CONCLUSION: The number of fertile patients who cryopreserve semen is extremely low. It is very important that the healthcare team warns patients of potential infertility after treatment. A high proportion of patients have valid samples for cryopreservation, but semen is used by a low number of patients. A high proportion of patients want to maintain their semen frozen.

Análisis de nuestra experiencia en la criopreservación del semen en pacientes oncológicos / An analysis of our experience in cryopreservation of semen from cancer patients

Objetivo: analizar las características de los pacientes con problemas oncológicos, usuarios del banco de semen, así como el uso del semen criopreservado. Material y métodos: de forma restrospectiva se han analizado todas las muestras de semen criopreservadas de varones con el diagnóstico de cáncer, entre abril de 1992 y octubre del 2007, en la provincia de Las Palmas. Resultados: fueron remitidos al banco de semen 101 varones con tumores, previo tratamiento oncológico. Se contactó por vía telefónica con el 80%. La edad media de congelación fue de 25 años. El 41% de los pacientes padecían de tumores testiculares; no tenían hijos biológicos previos el 33%. Sólo un paciente tenía problemas de infertilidad previo al tratamiento. En el momento del diagnóstico del cáncer el equipo sanitario advirtió al 67% de los pacientes de la posibilidad de infertilidad. Sólo el 1% de las muestras no fue apta para la criopreservación. Se usó la muestra congelada en el 4% de las muestras, y cuando se les preguntaba sobre el uso futuro del semen el 63% de los pacientes deseaba continuar con el criopreservado, frente al 17%, que no mostraba interés por tener descendencia en el futuro. Conclusión: el número de enfermos en edad fértil que criopreservan el semen es extremadamente bajo. Advertir a los pacientes de la posibilidad de infertilidad tras el tratamiento, por parte del equipo sanitario, es de una vital importancia. Hay un alto porcentaje de pacientes con muestras válidas para criopreservación, un escaso número de pacientes hacen uso del semen, aunque existe un alto porcentaje de pacientes con deseo de continuar con su semen congelado(AU)

Objective: To analyze the characteristics of patients with oncological problems who were users of the sperm bank, as well as use of cryopreserved semen. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis was made of all cryopreserved semen samples from males diagnosed with cancer from April 1992 to October 2007 at the province of Las Palmas. Results: One hundred and one male patients with cancer were referred to the sperm bank before cancer therapy. Eighty percent of them were contacted by telephone. Mean freezing age was 25 years. Forty-one percent of patients had testicular tumors. Thirty-three percent had no prior biological children. Only one patient had known fertility problems before treatment. Sixty-seven percent of patients were warned by the healthcare team about the possibility of infertility at the time of cancer diagnosis. Only 1% of samples were not adequate for cryopreservation. The frozen sample was used by 4% of the patients. When patients were asked about future use of semen, 63% of them wanted to continue with semen cryopreservation, as compared to 17% who had no interest in having offspring in the future. Conclusion: The number of fertile patients who cryopreserve semen is extremely low. It is very important that the healthcare team warns patients of potential infertility after treatment. A high proportion of patients have valid samples for cryopreservation, but semen is used by a low number of patients. A high proportion of patients want to maintain their semen frozen(AU)

Different frequency of cilia with transposition in human nasal and bronchial mucosa. A case of acquired ciliary dyskinesia.

Nasal and bronchial cilia and spermatozoa of a patient with a high clinical suspicion of a ciliary dyskinesia syndrome were ultrastructurally studied and quantified. Defective cilia showed two types of axonemal patterns: 9d+0s and 8d+1d. Of these, 9d+0s cilia prevailed in the proximal region, whereas 8d+1d prevailed in the distal region. Translocation of a peripheral doublet to the central position occurred at the middle region of cilia lacking the central pair, probably to compensate for its absence. Quantitative analysis showed that the percentages of anomalous cilia were 5.32+/-0.93 in nasal samples and 43.17+/-2.34 in bronchial samples. Spermatozoa without the central pair or with a translocated microtubular doublet were rarely observed, but a variety of nonspecific defects were seen. Even though transposition is generally considered to be an inherited ciliary defect and one of the causes of primary ciliary dyskinesia, in this case quantitative ultrastructural analysis and clinical data indicate that this is an acquired ciliary defect.