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Gonadal function after multimodality treatment in men with testicular germ cell cancer

Palmieri G, Lotrecchiano G, Ricci G, Spiezia R, Lombardi G, Bianco AR, Torino G. Gonadal function after multimodality treatment in men with testicular germ cell cancer. Eur J Endocrinol 1996;134:431–6. ISSN 0804–4643

We evaluated gonadal function in 63 patients with testicular cancer both within 1 month of unilateral orchiectomy before further treatment (pretreatment) and 3 years after treatment discontinuation (post-treatment). Sixteen patients underwent orchiectomy alone (group 1), nine patients underwent infradiaphragmatic radiotherapy (group 2) and 28 patients received four cycles (group 3) and 10 patients received six cycles (group 4) of cisplatin-based chemotherapy (cisplatin, vinblastine and bleomycin—PVB, or cisplatin, etoposide and bleomycin—PEB), Pretreatment semen analyses showed reduced sperm cell density, motility and impaired morphology of spermatozoa in all four groups (p>0.05). At the same time elevated estradiol and decreased serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in 28.5% of subjects were correlated with high serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin concentrations. Semen analyses revealed the lowest values for all parameters after infradiaphragmatic radiotherapy. Sperm cell count, motility and morphology were significantly better in patients treated with orchiectomy alone or with a conventional dose of chemotherapy than in the groups that received radiotherapy or high doses of chemotherapy (p < 0.05). We also observed a correlation between serum FSH values and sperm cell density for both pretreatment and post-treatment in every group of patients (p<0.05). Persistent subclinical Leydig cell dysfunction in groups treated with radiotherapy or high doses of chemotherapy was expressed by increased basal luteinizing hormone levels (78% of patients in group 2 vs 60% of patients in group 4) (p < 0.05) and by normal testosterone serum values (89% of patients in group 2 vs 80% of patients in group 4). Spermatogenesis and Leydig cell function are, therefore, persistently impaired in the majority of testicular cancer patients treated with radiotherapy or with more intensive chemotherapy.

G Palmieri, Dipartimento di Endocrinologia ed Oncologia Molecolare e Clinica, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università "Federico II", Via S Pansini 5, 80131 Napoli, Italy