Background. Fertility preservation is a huge problem among young men with oncological illnesses in Lithuania because cancer as well as its treatment can lead to infertility.
Research methods. According to PSO recommendations, we have analysed the sperm of patients who had surgery between 2014 and 2016 at the Nattional Cancer Institute (NVI) due to testicular cancer, or have been treated in the Vilnius University Hospital Santariškių klinikos (VULSK) in 2016 due to other onco-haematological illnesses and froze their semen or testicular tissue to preserve fertility. We have ascertained which patients had their sperm and/or testicular tissue frozen. Data were analysed using Microsoft Excel 2010 and SPSS 22.0 software. Statistical reliability level a=0.05.
Results. 15 NVI patients partictpated in the study (93.3% diagnosed with testicular cancer), along with 20 VULSK patients (30% with Hodgkin’s lymphoma (I-IV stages), 20% with leukaemia, 15% neuroendocrine carcinoma). NVI pat tients were older than VULSK patients, on average 27.2 and 23.5 years-old respectively (p<0.05). The sperm count was higher in haemato logical patients than in NVI patients: 88.44 mil/ml and 51.7 mil/ml (p<0.05). The average of sperm concentration of category D was higher among VULSK patients than NVI (p<0.05). 14 NVI patients and all VULSK patients had their sperm frozen. 10 NVI patients had their testicular tissue frozen, but none of the VULSK patients.
Conclusions. Sperm count in haematological patients’ samples was 1.7 times larger than in testicular cancer patients: 88.44 mil/ml and 51.07 mil/ml, respectively. However, in VULSK patients, most of the sperms were immobile, injured by oncological disease. Testicular cancer patients’ injury of spermatogenesis manifest as decreasing of sperm concentration, while haematological patients’ - mobility disorder.
