Semen quality and fertility in adult long-term survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Jahnukainen K, Heikkinen R, Henriksson M, Cooper TG, Puukko-Viertomies LR, Mäkitie O

Abstract

To assess testicular function and its determinants in adult survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at a median time of 20 years after ALL therapy.Prospective investigation.University hospital.Fifty-one male long-term survivors and 56 age-matched controls (median age of survivors at ALL diagnosis was 5 years, range: 1 to 15 years, and at the study 29 years, range: 26 to 38 years).None.Testicular size (mean value of both testicular volumes), serum hormone concentrations, semen quality, and number of children fathered correlated with ALL therapy.Survivors treated with 0-10 g/m(2) of cyclophosphamide had sperm quality and fertility rates comparable with those of controls, but the serum free-testosterone in the survivors treated with cyclophosphamide was lower than in controls (median: 213 pmol/L, range: 189-260 vs. 296 pmol/L, range: 242-338, respectively). Cranial irradiation without cyclophosphamide did not affect semen quality, fertility, or testosterone levels. None of the survivors of a high cumulative dose of cyclophosphamide (>20 g/m(2)) and testicular irradiation (10-24 Gy) had fathered a child. Testicular size was shown to be better than serum inhibin B in predicting nonazoospermic semen samples or fertility.Treatment of childhood ALL with 0-10 g/m(2) of cyclophosphamide and cranial irradiation does not affect fertility or semen quality but may impair long-term Leydig cell function.