title: Hydroxyurea therapy contributes to infertility in adult men with sickle cell disease: a review.
abstract: Hydroxyurea therapy, a chemotherapeutic agent, is the only US FDA approved therapy for the prevention of vaso-occlusive pain in sickle cell disease (SCD). The National Institutes of Health has sponsored two Phase III randomized, placebo-controlled trials, initially in adults, and subsequently in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Despite the overwhelming evidence that hydroxyurea therapy is beneficial to children and adults with SCA, individuals with SCA and their families express reservations about its use, in part because of the concerns about fertility, particularly in men. As adolescent boys with SCD are now expected to reach their reproductive years, a new concern is emerging about the role of hydroxyurea therapy as a barrier to their progeny. This review will systemically evaluate compromised fertility in men with SCD, and the evidence that hydroxyurea therapy is associated with further decreasing fertility in men with SCD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Vanderbilt-Meharry-Matthew Walker Center for Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease, Vanderbilt University Medical Center 2200 Children's Way, Room 11206 DOT, Nashville, TN 37232-9000, USA.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: DeBaun
mesh_terms: D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000818:Animals; D000986:Antisickling Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D006918:Hydroxyurea / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D007006:Hypogonadism / Q000139:chemically induced; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008297:Male; D013091:Spermatogenesis / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000986:Antisickling Agents; D006918:Hydroxyurea
keywords: fertility; hydroxyurea; hypogonadism; sickle cell disease; spermatogenesis