Eva Lousová

Sperm Cryopreservation before Testicular Cancer Treatment and Its Subsequent Utilization for the Treatment of Infertility

Aims. In this study we report our results with storage of cryopreserved semen intended for preservation and subsequent infertility treatment in men with testicular cancer during the last 18 years. Methods. Cryopreserved semen of 523 men with testicular cancer was collected between October 1995 and the end of December 2012. Semen of 34 men (6.5%) was used for fertilization of their partners. They underwent 57 treatment cycles with cryopreserved, fresh, and/or donor sperm. Results. A total of 557 men have decided to freeze their semen before cancer treatment. Azoospermia was diagnosed in 34 men (6.1%), and semen was cryopreserved in 532 patients. Seminoma was diagnosed in 283 men (54.1%) and nonseminomatous germ cell tumors in 240 men (45.9%). 34 patients who returned for infertility treatment underwent 46 treatment cycles with cryopreserved sperm. Totally 16 pregnancies were achieved, that is, 34.8% pregnancy rate. Conclusion. The testicular cancer survivors have a good chance of fathering a child by using sperm cryopreserved prior to the oncology treatment, even when it contains only limited number of spermatozoa.

Magnetic-Activated Cell Sorting in Combination with Swim-Up Efficiency Improve Effectivity of Spermatozoa Separation

Abstract Correct selection of spermatozoa before their using for an assisted reproductive techniques is one of the crucial step in therapy of human infertility. It was previously reported that male factor plays a major role in infertility. Basic semen analyses and standard methods for sperm selection in many cases does not eliminate sufficiently proportion of spermatozoa with genetics defects. Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting (MACS) is a selection method which reduce apoptotic sperm and improve sperm and embryo quality. The aim of our study was the comparison of swim-up method and MACS and their combination. We tested swim-up and MACS alone and treatment of spermatozoa in combination when was is first swim-up and second MACS and vice versa. In this study we evaluated sperm concentration, motility and their DNA integrity before and after separtion methods. On the basis of our results we recommend to use swim-up before MACS method. This approach brings better results in the sperm selection - lower proportion of spermatozoa with fragmented DNA and also it brings better gain of total spermatozoa usable for next IVF or ICSI methods.