Toxicology

Human

Cancer

In general, men with good DNA integrity prior to chemotherapy have better DNA integrity recovery after chemotherapy than those with poor DNA integrity prior to chemotherapy. Patients with testicular, Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's disease and other neoplasms (abnormal growth, i.e. tumor) were evaluated with SCSA analysis. The results showed the cancer patients as a group had significantly higher DNA damage when compared to proven fertile donors (Kobayashi et al. 2001).

In another study, semen from six men with acute lymphocytic leukemia was analyzed by for DNA fragmentation 10 to 52 months after completion of therapy. All men had DNA fragmentation consistent with a normal fertile reproductive status. After treatment one patient fathered a normal child and a second fathered a child with multiple congenital malformations followed by a second normal child (Evenson et al. 1984).

Patients with testicular cancer were evaluated by SCSA analysis after orchiectomy (removal of one or both testes) but before treatment (pre-treatment). Twenty-three of the thirty-nine patients displayed abnormal DNA fragmentation during pre-treatment. After treatment with radiotherapy or chemotherapyin 19 evaluable patients, recovery of spermatogenesis was seen in 4 out of 5 patients and was observed more in patients with normal DNA fragmentation during pre-treatment (Fossa et al. 1997).