For men facing cancer treatment, the risk of infertility is a major concern that is often overlooked. While fertility preservation options exist, studies consistently show that a significant proportion of patients are not adequately informed or offered these choices by their healthcare providers before undergoing potentially sterilizing cancer treatments.
The main barriers to men being aware of fertility preservation include limited knowledge and training among providers, discomfort discussing the sensitive topic, low referral rates to reproductive specialists, logistical challenges, time constraints before treatment initiation, perceptions about appropriateness based on prognosis, and patient-related factors like lack of awareness and financial concerns.
It is crucial for men to understand their options for preserving fertility, which include:
Sperm Cryopreservation (Sperm Banking)
This standard and most effective method involves collecting and freezing sperm samples before treatment for future use through assisted reproductive techniques like intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilization (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). It is well-established and successful for post-pubertal males.
Testicular Tissue Cryopreservation
An experimental approach where testicular tissue is removed and frozen before cancer treatment. The frozen tissue may potentially be used later to extract sperm stem cells for reimplantation or to induce in vitro spermatogenesis. However, no live births from this method have been reported in humans yet.
Gonadal Shielding
Protecting the testicles from radiation damage by using lead shields during radiotherapy. Its effectiveness is limited by patient anatomy and radiation field requirements.
Sperm Retrieval
For males who cannot produce a semen sample, sperm can be surgically retrieved from the testicles or epididymis through techniques like testicular sperm extraction (TESE) or percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration (PESA). Retrieved sperm can then be used for IVF/ICSI. This invasive option is appropriate when a male cannot produce a semen sample due to conditions like anejaculation, obstructive azoospermia, or prior to puberty.
While sperm cryopreservation is the most established and successful fertility preservation method, sperm retrieval combined with IVF/ICSI can be an option when cryopreserved sperm is unavailable or inadequate. However, IVF/ICSI is more invasive, costly, and has lower success rates compared to using cryopreserved sperm for insemination.
Overcoming barriers to awareness and utilization of fertility preservation options requires improved education and adherence to clinical guidelines from organizations like the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Establishing formal fertility preservation programs with multidisciplinary teams, patient navigators, and educational initiatives can help ensure that men with cancer have the opportunity to make informed decisions about preserving their fertility before undergoing cancer treatments.
For questions, please contact Mark Perloe at mperloe@outlook.com
Are you ready to get the inside scoop on clinical trials? Get ready to delve deep with former clinical trial nurse coordinator Marni Tierno. We know it can be a complex and overwhelming topic, but don’t worry – we’re here to break it down in a way that’s easy to understand.
Also featuring the vast professional experience of Wendy Garvin Mayo, we’ll tackle the myths and misconceptions that often surround clinical trials, giving you the facts and insights you need to make informed decisions.
Whether you’re a patient, carepartner, or simply curious about clinical trials, this webinar is for you! Our aim is to empower you with a deep understanding, allowing you to make the best choices for yourself or your loved ones.
Some of the topics we will cover include:
Description of the types and phases of clinical trials
Examples of pivotal clinical trials that have changed how we treat cancer
What to expect when participating in a clinical trial (including potential risks and benefits)
Addressing common questions about clinical trial participation
and more!
Watch here: (closed captioning is provided for this webinar, click the CC button at the bottom next to the gear.)
To view the slides from this webinar, please click here.
Special thanks to Bayer, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Foundation Medicine, Myriad Genetics, Telix, and Blue Earth Diagnostics for sponsoring this webinar.
And very special thanks to Illumina and Collaborative Cancer Care for letting us have two of their absolute best people present for us!
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To SIGN UP for any of our Virtual Support groups, visit our Contact Us page.
For those that have been around AnCan for a while, the name Lindsey Byrne should be familiar. Lindsey is a Genetic Counselor at The Ohio State University (James) Comprehensive Cancer Center who specializes in prostate cancer. Click this link, and you’ll see everything she has done with AnCan!
Lindsey recently participated with Janssen Biotech, soon to be referred to as just Johnson & Johnson (JnJ), to make 3 short videos on the implications of the BRCA gene mutation for prostate cancer. This is part of a non-branded education effort as JnJ introduces its newly approved single pill, AKEEGA, that combines PARP-Inhibitor niraparib with ARSI, abiraterone acetate. Lindsey doesn’t just talk the talk; she walks the walk – ask her patient, frequent AnCan participant, Frank Fabish pictured together right. AnCan, btw, is also indirectly connected to panelist GU med onc Cora Sternberg, who went to grade school with one of our gents, and was a good family friend of another.
If the video seems a little stiff, that’s because it has to be fully scripted to meet FDA requirements for the manufacturers. That said, the information is good, understandable and accurate – although it may leave out important additional information AnCan would impart. So if you know very little about BRCA, and want to understand it better, we recommend watching these 3 short videos that you can do in les than 20 minutes. Clickhttps://www.uncoverbrca.com/expert-video-series/index.html
Two short caveats:
even if you don’t have prostate cancer, but your condition has a risk for BRCA mutations, the videos may be helpful. PARP-Inhibitors alone are often a treatment option when BRCA is present in any cancer.
in full disclosure, JnJ is a significant AnCan financial sponsor. However, JnJ neither requested nor required us to promote these videos.
Hi-Risk/Recurrent/Advanced PCa Video Chat, Sep 12, 2023
AnCan is grateful to the following sponsors for making this recording possible: Bayer, Foundation Medicine, Pfizer, Janssen, Myriad Genetics, Myovant, Telix & Blue Earth Diagnostics.
AnCan respectfully notes that it does not accept sponsored promotion. Any drugs, protocols or devices recommended in our discussions are based solely on anecdotal peer experience or clinical evidence.
AnCan cannot and does not provide medical advice. We encourage you to discuss anything you hear in our sessions with your own medical team.
AnCan’s Prostate Cancer Forum is back (https://ancan.org/forums). If you’d like to comment on anything you see in our Recordings or read in our Reminders, just sign up and go right ahead. You can also click on the Forum icon at the top right of the webpage.
All AnCan’s groups are free and drop-in … join us in person sometime! You can find out more about our 12 monthly prostate cancer meetings at https://ancan.org/prostate-cancer/ Sign up to receive a weekly Reminder/Newsletter for this Group or others at https://ancan.org/contact-us/
Editors pick: His growing prostate tumor causes pain, but he’s “too old” for treatment. (bn)
Topics Discussed
At the end of his treatment road, a spirited Carl Forman speaks to us from home hospice — “it’s almost like a spa”; prostatectomy at age 49, recurrence at 58, now on ADT and feeling “like a Mack truck hit me”; PSA stops creeping higher and stands still; high fever, swollen groin keep returning — is it his artificial sphincter?; radiology report suggests he’s developing MS — why’d medonc say nothing?; growing tumor causes prostate pain, but docs keep ruling out treatments; a month after ADT, testosterone is up tenfold; managing uncharacteristic low spirits after surgery; safe to walk the streets near Penn?; weighing a 20% fracture risk from spine radiation against the benefits; Myovant sold; mutations spring up out of nowhere in new somatic report; update on AnCan’s Great Nonprofits ranking; we’re no stranger to palliative care.
Chat Log
AnCan – rick · 6:12 PM
Forman – over 5 years… Sep 2018
Unknown · 6:17 PM
Carl Forman carl.forman@gmail.com
AnCan – rick · 6:35 PM
Gents – please be aware that AnCan has spoken often about end-of-life options and hospice.
AnCan – rick · 6:38 PM
We actually had an amazing session with Prof Bill GRHS that I think is accessible on our website. I will see it.
AnCan – rick · 6:56 PM
Prof Bill Burhans GRHS discusses hospice and end-of-life https://ancan.org/20064-2/ …..
AnCan – rick · 7:20 PM
cabazitaxel (Jevtana) vs docetaxel (Taxotere)
Alan Babcock · 7:21 PM
I have another meeting. See y’all next wek.
AnCan – rick · 7:24 PM
Suprapubic catheter is a tube above the prostate to the bladder that exits to a bag.
Len Sierra · 7:46 PM
Prostate-Specific Antigen Level at the Time of Salvage Therapy After Radical Prostatectomy for Prostate Cancer and the Risk of Death Derya Tilki , MD1,2,3; Ming-Hui Chen , PhD4; Jing Wu, PhD5; Hartwig Huland, MD1; Markus Graefen, MD1; Osama Mohamad , MD, PhD6; Janet E. Cowan , MA7; Felix Y. Feng , MD6; Peter R. Carroll, MD, MPH7; and Anthony V. D’Amico , MD, PhD8
AnCan – rick · 7:48 PM
Tx Len
Neil Sundstrom · 7:50 PM
someone is breathing heavily and it is hard to hear. Please mute
AnCan – rick · 7:50 PM
It’s John Kish who is speaking
Last month’s Under 60 Stage 3 & 4 Prostate Cancer meeting was small, intimate and produced a true gem from Down Under to benefit all AnCan’rs …
For the life of me, I forget what raised the topic … maybe a Death with Dignity discussion – but Aussie AnCan’r, Steve Cavill told us about the ICE “In Case of Emergency” Checklist Document that he and his wife Leonie, who occasionally attends our Care Partners Group, have both completed. Steve and Leonie reside in the suburbs of Melbourne and are currently heading towards mid-Winter.
This ICE Checklist takes much, if not all, the difficulty out of placing your key information in one place. Like your vital passwords to your laptop, phone or bank accounts; names of key individuals in your life and more. You know .. all that information making it possible for someone to piece your life together if you’re suddenly no longer with us.
Frankly it’s information we should all compile no matter how old. With this checklist guide at hand to march us through it, there can be few excuses. Just remember, this version of the ICE checklist was created in Oz, so it may not be fully applicable Stateside. If one of our US volunteers has time to ‘Americanize’ it, I feel sure it will be greatly appreciated – we have very few solicitors in the US and a few too many attorneys!
Here’s the checklist document in Word format ICE Document Template Now do your part …. and a BIG THANK YOU, Steve Cavill!!
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For those that have been around AnCan for a while, the name Lindsey Byrne should be familiar. Lindsey is a Genetic Counselor at The Ohio State University (James) Comprehensive Cancer Center who specializes in prostate cancer. Click 
gents, and was a good family friend of another.
