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Chapter 13 - Cryopreservation and Grafting of Immature Testicular Tissue

from Section 4 - Fertility Preservation Strategies in the Male

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2021

By
Mina Mincheva  and
Stefan Schlatt
Edited by
Jacques Donnez  and
S. Samuel Kim
Jacques Donnez
Affiliation:
Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels
S. Samuel Kim
Affiliation:
University of Kansas School of Medicine
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Summary

Over the past three decades survival rate in children and adolescents with cancer has doubled as a result of significant improvements in medical treatments [1]. Since more than 80% of children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer will survive ≥5 years beyond their diagnosis [2], one of the important concerns are the adverse effects of chemo- and radiotherapy on gonadal hormonal function and spermatogenesis [1]. Moreover, 80% of cancer survivors are intending to father their genetically own children, with only 10% acceptance of using donor sperm [3]. This scenario renders fertility preservation a pivotal aspect for the treatment of cancer in prepubertal boys and adolescents.

Spermatogonia are extremely susceptible to damage induced by chemo- or radiotherapy [4], and the extent of insult depends on the regimen and the cumulative dosage of treatments used [2]. Consequently, restoration of fertility following childhood cancer treatment will be dependent on the survival of sufficient numbers of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). In primates these can be recognized as the type Adark subtype which acts as regenerative reserve [4].

Type
Chapter
Information
Fertility Preservation
Principles and Practice
 , pp. 138 - 152
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

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