Cancer patients frequently report cognitive complaints following chemotherapy, but the results from the available studies, mainly of women with breast cancer, are inconsistent. Our aim was to compare cognitive function of men with testicular cancer (TC) who had orchiectomy and chemotherapy (bleomycin, etoposide, cisplatin) with men who had orchiectomy only or orchiectomy and radiotherapy. Thirty-six chemotherapy patients and 36 nonchemotherapy patients were tested 2–7 years after treatment for TC with standardized neuropsychological tests. Chemotherapy and nonchemotherapy patients displayed similar performances on cognitive tests (p values adjusted for multiple comparisons: .63–1.00). Moreover, there was no difference in the proportion of cognitively impaired patients in the chemotherapy group (5.6%) compared to the nonchemotherapy group (8.3%) (χ2 = 0.22, p = .64). Our results are discordant with previous findings indicating cognitive impairment following chemotherapy and suggest that TC patients do not need to fear long-term cognitive consequences following chemotherapy. (JINS, 2009, 15, 296–301.)

Sertoli cells are very important to spermatogenesis homeostasis because they control germ cell proliferation, differentiation, and death. Damages to Sertoli cells cause germ cell death and affect fertility. Etoposide is a potent chemotherapeutic drug largely used against a variety of cancers. However, this drug also kills normal cells, especially those undergoing rapid proliferation. In the testis, etoposide acts predominantly on intermediate and type B spermatogonia. Etoposide was shown to permanently alter Sertoli cell function when administered to prepubertal rats. Based on this, we decided to investigate whether etoposide can affect Sertoli cell morphology. For this, 25-day-old rats were treated with etoposide during 8 consecutive days and killed at 32, 45, 64, 127, and 180 days old. Testes were fixed in Bouin's liquid or in a mixture of 2.5% glutaraldehyde and 2% formaldehyde for analysis under light and electron microscopes, respectively. Sertoli cells showed morphological alterations such as the presence of chromatin clumps close to the nuclear membrane, nucleus displacement, and cytoplasmic vacuolization. Some Sertoli cells also showed nuclear and cytoplasmic degenerative characteristics, suggesting that etoposide causes severe damages to Sertoli cell.