Aim: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the incidence of a non-tumoral, contralateral primitive testiculopathy and its relative influence on sperm quality of patients with unilateral testicular cancer.
Methods: Twenty-four patients (mean age 26 years, range 19-38) with testicular germ cell cancer (seminomas, SEM, in 10 cases; nonseminomas, NSEM, in the remaining 14 patients) after orchiectomy and before radiotherapy or chemotherapy underwent semen analysis, physical examination and scrotal ultrasound of their survivor testis.
Results: Patients with SEM had sperm concentration, total sperm count and forward motility significantly higher than those found in patients with NSEM. Altogether, 5 out of 24 patients (2 SEM; 3 NSEM) (20.8%) showed azoospermia; 10 patients (41.7%) (3 SEM; 7 NSEM) had oligo-, astheno- and/or terato-zoospermia (OAT). The remaining 9 patients (37.5%) (5 SEM; 4 NSEM) showed normal sperm parameters. The testicular volume of the left over testis was reduced (<12 ml) in 4 out of 5 (80%) azoospermic patients, in 7 out of 10 patients (70%) of OAT patients, but in no patient (0%) with normozoospermia. A testicular biopsy performed on the survivor testis of 5 patients with azoospermia (4 of them had a reduced testicular volume) confirmed the primitive testiculopathy, showing a histological pattern of Sertoli cell syndrome only in 4 of them (80%) and maturation arrest in the other case (20%).
Conclusions: Less (OAT) or more severe (azoospermia) sperm output impairment in patients with unilateral testicular cancer is associated with a coincidental, contralateral to unilateral testicular cancer, primitive testiculopathy expressed as reduced testicular volume and impairment spermatogenesis at the testicular biopsy.