Sperm cryopreservation effective fertility preservation that benefits cancer patients: Study

This meta-analysis included 69 non-randomized studies, with 32,234 patients referred for sperm analysis and 23 178 patients cryopreserving at least one sperm sample.

The pooled failed-to-cryopreserve rate was 10% (95% CI, 8–12%), and the sperm disposal and sperm use rates were 23% (95% CI, 16–30%) and 9% (95% CI, 8–10%), respectively.

The pregnancy, miscarriage, and delivery rates were 28% (95% CI, 22–33%), 13% (95% CI, 10–17%), and 20% (95% CI, 15–25%), respectively.

Subgroup analysis showed higher pregnancy and delivery rates, as well as a lower failed-to-cryopreserve rate, in recent studies compared to those released a decade ago.

The studies from Asia reported higher sperm disposal and pregnancy rates than in other continents.

Study analysis showed clinical pregnancy rates per cycle of 34% (27–41%), 24% (14–35%), and 9% (5–15%) and delivery rates per cycle of 23% (17–30%), 18% (11–26%), and 5% (1–9%) for ICSI, IVF, and IUI, respectively.

In conclusion, this study supported previous reports that sperm cryopreservation is an effective method of fertility preservation in male patients with cancer. The rate of use of frozen sperm in the review underestimated the actual rate, making it meaningful to actively recommend fertility preservation to patients with cancer. ART plays an important role in fertility preservation and pregnancy achievement, with ICSI resulting in better clinical outcomes than IVF and IUI in patients with cancer. Hence, fertility preservation still requires the involvement of oncologists, reproductive medicine clinicians, andrologists, and embryologists.

Source: Li et al.; Human Reproduction Open, 2024, 2024(1), hoae006 https://doi.org/10.1093/hropen/hoae006