Cryopreservation of gametes - a hope for cancer patients

Abstract

Two cases of successful pregnancy following semen banking before chemotherapy in cancer patients are described. In the first case, a 20 year-old patient had his semen cryopreserved after testicular cancer was diagnosed; 12 years later semen thawing was performed and used in in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI), resulting in a singleton pregnancy, uneventful prenatal with a term delivery. The second case, a 33 year-old patient had his semen cryopreserved before chemo-/radiotherapy for peripheral neuro-ectodermal tumor. These cases give support for semen banking, even for long period of time, especially men whose fertility in the future could be compromised by spermatogenesis suppression secondary to chemo- and radiotherapy administration. Using ICSI, a cryopreserved semen has a higher chance to cause pregnancy, especially in patients with little vital sperm. Cryopreserving of a single ejaculate previous to radio/chemotherapy could preserve fertility without compromising the oncological therapy. We can not forget recent successful achievements in the cryopreservation of ovarian tissue in cancer management of young females.