title: Trends and usage in a London National Health Service Sperm Bank for cancer patients.
abstract: Sperm cryopreservation is the only method currently available that offers men with cancer insurance against sterilising iatrogenic treatments. We carried out two cohort and cross-sectional audits to identify trends with sperm cryopreservation referral rates and sample usage rates for men diagnosed with cancer and who banked sperm at The Andrology Laboratory, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College NHS Trust. These retrospective audits revealed that a total of 4362 men with cancer successfully banked sperm between 1976 and 2013. Truncating the dataset to 2009 to allow for lag times between storage and use, the overall sample usage rate for cancer patients was 6.0% with 75 live births. Increased median age at referral influences the cancer profile of men seen at the bank, which is highlighted by a disproportionate rise in the number of men with prostate cancer. Among men who use banked sperm, a large rise in the use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection has occurred over time. The number of patients requiring the service is sharply increasing year on year as are the number of patients who go on to use their sample in assisted conception. The historical use rates of frozen sperm are likely to be significant underestimations of future use.
authors.affiliation: Andrology Laboratory, Hammersmith Hospital, Imperial College NHS Trust , London , UK.
authors.forename: Chey
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dearing
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Breen
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bradshaw
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ramsay
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindsay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D059247:Fertility Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009313:National Health Programs; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D013074:Sperm Banks / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cancer; assisted conception; sperm banking