Semen quality of consecutive ejaculates from cancer patients for fertility preservation

• Published in: Fertility and sterility Vol. 102; no. 4; pp. 1124 - 1129.e3
• Main Authors: Kim, Seul Ki, Lee, Jang Mi, Jee, Byung Chul, Suh, Chang Suk, Kim, Seok Hyun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.10.2014
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Ejaculation; fertility preservation; Fertility Preservation - methods; Hospitals, University; Humans; Internal Medicine; intraclass correlation coefficients; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - therapy; Obstetrics and Gynecology; Predictive Value of Tests; Reproducibility of Results; Retrospective Studies; Semen Analysis; Semen Preservation; Sperm banking; Sperm Banks; Sperm Count; Sperm Motility; Time Factors; within-subject coefficients of variation; Young Adult; fertility preservation; semen analysis; Sperm banking; within-subject coefficients of variation; intraclass correlation coefficients
• ISSN: 0015-0282; 1556-5653; 1556-5653
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2014.06.045

To study variations in semen parameters among cancer patients who visited a sperm banking clinic before undergoing cancer treatment. Retrospective, consecutive study. University-based hospital. Eighty-six patients, diagnosed with various cancers, undergoing multiple semen collections on 5 consecutive days, for fertility preservation, between 2004 and 2013. None. Within- and between-subject coefficients of variation were estimated using a random-effects analysis of variance to assess the consistency of semen parameters (volume, sperm concentration, motility, rapid motility, total motile sperm count, and computer-based sperm parameters), whereas intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to assess the size of the between-component of variance relative to the total component of variance. When analyzing semen parameters over a maximum of 5 consecutive days, only the semen volume was significantly reduced in day-1 and -3 samples compared with the first sample. Almost all of the parameters showed high ICC values, suggesting that within-subject fluctuations were small relative to the between-subject variability. The highest ICC values were noted in volume (ICC 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52–0.89), followed by total motile count (ICC 0.71; 95% CI 0.30–0.89); the least consistent measure was wobble (ICC 0.14; 95% CI −0.13, 0.51). Repeated ejaculates from cancer patients did not show substantial variation in semen quality.