Frequent Azoospermia in Patients with Testicular Germ Cell Cancer and a History of Cryptorchidism: a Report of Nine Cases and Review of the Literature

This study analyzed semen parameters in patients with testicular germ cell cancer and a history of cryptorchidism. Among testicular cancer patients referred for sperm cryopreservation, the semen of 9 patients with a history of cryptorchidism, including three cases of bilateral cryptorchidism and one case of cryptorchidism with bilateral metachronous tumor, was analyzed. Eight patients underwent orchidopexy during childhood. The tumor was observed on the contralateral side of the undescended testis, except in the bilateral metachronous tumor and cryptorchidism cases. Five patients, including the one who developed a metachronous testicular tumor on the undescended testis, showed azoospermia even though in three of them, semen was collected before undergoing orchiectomy. Clinical urologists should recognize that spermatogenesis is severely impaired in these patients and consider cryopreservation before orchiectomy or onco-TESE.