Preserving fertility for boys treated for cancer before puberty

Overview

Survival rates for childhood cancer have increased dramatically over recent decades due to improved treatments, so long-term effects of cancer treatment, like infertility, are becoming more important. For adults with cancer there is the possibility of storing sperm, but boys don’t make sperm until after puberty. One of several cell types in the testicle can be damaged, and understanding how this occurs is important for developing new treatments to preserve or restore fertility. Most studies investigating the effects of chemotherapy on the testicle are performed in adults, with very few involving children. But we can’t assume that the effects of treatment are the same in children. In this project, Dr Mitchell and colleagues will establish a clinical service to store testicular tissue from boys with cancer at high risk of infertility. The tissue will be taken before treatment and stored until adulthood, so that it could be used to enable them to have children.

What difference will this project make?

This project will offer short- and long-term benefits to the children involved in the study as well as benefitting future children diagnosed with cancer. Dr Mitchell’s team are the first in the UK to offer the possibility of storing testicular tissue from boys with cancer, and will offer the service to boys whose treatment puts them at high risk of future infertility. The tissue will be available to them throughout adulthood, and this research will also be developing the techniques to provide the potential long-term benefit of restoring their fertility. Equally important, by studying how chemotherapy damages the testicle and causes infertility, the team will contribute to efforts to modify cancer treatments to reduce the risk of infertility for children diagnosed in the future. This will also enable teams to develop treatments that could help protect the testicles from chemotherapy-induced damage.