Cancer and Male Infertility

Where can I find out more about male fertility?
For more information about male fertility, including suggestions for taking action and a list of resources,
visit www.livestrong.org/malefertility.

Why is knowing about male infertility important to men affected by cancer?
Cancer and its treatment may sometimes put male survivors at risk for infertility. Infertility means not being able to produce healthy sperm or to ejaculate sperm. There are many different causes for infertility in cancer survivors. While it’s best to discuss your risk for infertility before treatment begins, there are still options for cancer survivors who may experience infertility as a result of cancer or its treatment but want to have children.

What do I need to know about male infertility?
Men’s fertility can be damaged by many different factors. Some causes are listed below.
• Genetic: Male infertility can be inherited, especially when a man’s Y-chromosomes are missing a tiny piece of genetic code. Men who have genetic causes for their infertility may pass the problem to their sons if they are able to father a child using newer infertility treatments.
• Hormonal: Men whose hormones are out of balance can become infertile. This can sometimes be related to cancer and/or treatment for cancer.
• Physical: Some men are born without parts of the tubes that form the pathway for ripe sperm to travel to the areas near the prostate where they mix with the liquid parts of semen just before a man ejaculates. These tubes can also be blocked by scar tissue after injury or infection. Also, varicoceles, clusters of enlarged veins in the testicles, can lower sperm counts.
• Disease-related: Some diseases—such as cancer, diabetes, mumps orchitis or tuberculosis—can cause low sperm counts.
• Environmental: Exposure to high heat, microwaves or pesticides can affect fertility.
• Lifestyle factors: Obesity, tobacco use, heavy drinking and using anabolic steroids for body-building can affect the quality of a man’s semen.
• Age: Semen quality can decrease with age.
• Cancer and/or treatment for cancer: Some types of cancer treatment may interfere with a man’s fertility, either temporarily, or permanently

What steps should I take to preserve fertility before, during or after treatment?
Generally, infertility is most likely to happen before cancer treatment and just after treatment is finished. Just because one year’s semen analysis says you are infertile, the results may change over the next month or year. If a man is going to recover sperm production, his semen analysis will usually improve within one to three years after he finishes cancer treatment, although some men have had improvements as many as nine years later.

Below is a brief list of options:
• Sperm banking
• Testicular tissue freezing
• Donor sperm
• Adoption