Sexual function and fertility after treatment of testicular cancer

Abstract

As a result of the introduction of effective cisplatin-based chemotherapeutic regimens into the clinical routine, even patients with metastatic testicular cancer at initial diagnosis can be cured of their disease. Sexual dysfunction and infertility are common long-lasting sequelae in testicular cancer survivors, affecting approximately 20% of patients after the application of the different treatment modalities currently available for the treatment of early and advanced clinical stages, including retroperitoneal surgery and systemic chemotherapy. Accordingly, it has been demonstrated that fertility distress and sexual disturbances, the latter occurring in only a minority of patients after surgical or chemotherapeutic treatment of testicular germ cell tumours, substantially alter the patients' quality of life. It is even worse because testicular cancer mostly affects men in the prime of their physical, sexual and reproductive function. Although semen quality is frequently poor at initial diagnosis and further deteriorates after orchiectomy, probably because of structural abnormalities in the remaining contralateral testicle, the advent of intracytoplasmatic sperm injection promises a fertile future to most patients, even if only a few sperms are present in the ejaculate. Further long-term investigations should be initiated to clarify the impact of the different treatment modalities on fertility and sexual life. The main objective should be the identification of patients who are at increased risk of developing therapy-related physical and psychological problems.