Improved risk identification will aid fertility preservation in young male cancer patients

A study led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital investigators has found the chemotherapy dose threshold below which male childhood cancer survivors are likely to have normal sperm production. By clarifying which patients are at highest risk for reduced sperm production as adults, researchers expect the findings to eventually increase use of pre-treatment fertility preservation methods such as sperm banking. The study involved drugs called alkylating agents that are widely used to treat a variety of pediatric cancers. Unlike other chemotherapy, alkylating agents are known to damage sperm production. Until this study, however, there was scant information about the risk associated with different cumulative exposures. Read more here.