by Families of men with fertility problems show distinct patterns of increased risk of various types of cancer. For the first time, risk patterns for several different types of cancer have been identified in men with fertility problems and their families. The study, published in Human Reproduction, found that families of men who have very few or no sperm in their semen have a higher risk of developing cancer, including cancer at younger ages, compared to families of fertile men. . . The risk and type of cancer varied considerably depending on whether the men had low sperm numbers (oligozoospermic) or none (azoospermic), with several types of cancer identified in different family groups. Standard Related News No Peter Walter, scientist: “It is unlikely that there is a definitive cure for all cancers” Rafael Ibarra The researcher has been awarded the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge in Biomedicine award The researchers, led by Joemy Ramsay, from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City (USA), hopes that their findings will improve the understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in both cancer and infertility. This would allow doctors to make more accurate predictions about cancer risk for men with fertility problems and their families, and improve the advice that could be offered to them. Previous research has shown that male infertility is linked to an increased risk of cancer in men and their families, but results have been inconsistent. “We wanted to describe the extent to which cancer risk patterns vary among families of subfertile men and whether this risk is seen in all families or is driven by a small subset of families, similar to how mutations in the BRCA gene “The risk of breast cancer increases in families who carry this mutation,” says Ramsay. Thus, he adds, “by identifying families with similar patterns of cancer, we can discover factors that are involved in both infertility and cancer.” The study used semen analyzes carried out between 1996 and 2017 on 786 men who attended fertility clinics and compared them with information from 5,674 fertile men in the general population who had at least one child to ensure that they were fertile. Among the men with fertility problems, 426 were azoospermic and 360 were severely oligozoospermic (with less than 1.5 million sperm per milliliter of semen). Additionally, information on first-, second-, and third-degree relatives was collected using the Utah Population Database. Cancer diagnoses are identified from the Utah Cancer Registry. Related News standard No The cell therapy that has revolutionized cancer reaches lupus R. Ibarra A group of patients with severe lupus, idiopathic inflammatory myositis or systemic sclerosis are treated with CAR-T cell therapy When they were examined by all the families of azoospermic men, observed a significantly increased risk of five types of cancer: bone and joint cancer (156% increase in risk), soft tissue cancers such as sarcomas (56% increase in risk), uterus (27% increase in risk), Hodgkin lymphomas (60% increased risk), and thyroid cancers (54% increased risk). Families of severely oligozoospermic men had a significantly increased risk of three types of cancer: colon (16% increase in risk), bone and joint cancer (143% increase in risk), and testicular (134% increase). in risk). The researchers also found a 61% decrease in the risk of esophageal cancer. “Our study identifies several unique patterns of cancer risk in families of men with low fertility. When family members share cancer risk patterns, it suggests they have genetic, environmental, or behavioral factors in common. Genetic and environmental exposures may also act together to increase cancer risk. By identifying which groups of families have similar patterns of cancer risk, we can improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms of both cancer and infertility,” says Dr. Ramsey. “It will help us assess cancer risk for families and provide improved counseling to patients.”
