Spermatogonial quantity in prepubertal boys undergoing fertility preservation is comparable between haematological and non-haematological cancers.

Fertility restoration potential of immature testicular tissue (ITT) depends on the number of spermatogonial cells in the retrieved tissue prior to cryopreservation in oncofertility programme. There are limited data on the association between type of malignancy and testicular germ cell population. Hence, this study is aimed to investigate the spermatogonial and Sertoli cell population in ITT retrieved from 14 pre-pubertal boys who opted for fertility preservation. Histopathological and immunochemical analysis of seminiferous tubules from haematological (N = 7) and non-haematological (N = 7) malignant patients revealed 3.43 ± 2.92 and 1.71 ± 1.81 spermatogonia per tubular cross section (S/T), respectively. The Sertoli cell number was comparable between haematological and non-haematological group (18.42 ± 3.78 and 22.03 ± 10.43). Spermatogonial quantity in ITT did not vary significantly between haematological and non-haematological cancers. This observation, though preliminary, would contribute to the limited literature on paediatric male oncofertility.

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis: An unusual presentation of tuberculosis in hemodialysis patients.

We report a series of three patients with end-stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis presenting with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) as an unusual manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. All three patients were middle-aged men. They presented with fever, pancytopenia, varying degrees of hepatosplenomegaly, abnormal liver function tests, coagulopathy, increased serum ferritin, and triglycerides. Tests for fever work-up were negative. Bone marrow examination revealed hemophagocytosis and caseating granuloma. Acid fast bacilli were demonstrated in two patients. The HLH-2004 diagnostic criteria suggested by the histiocytic society were followed to arrive at the diagnosis. All of them succumbed to death even before the definitive diagnosis could be made. We suggest that aggressive diagnostic work-up must be done when hemodialysis patients present with fever and pancytopenia. Priority should be toward early diagnosis and appropriate treatment to improve the prognosis.