In children of fathers with testicular cancer, no increased risk of birth defects was linked to treatment with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, revealed new research. The study, by Yahia Al-Jebari of Lund University, Sweden and colleagues, is published in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine. It followed 4,207 children of 2,380 fathers and finds that those conceived after treatment were not at a greater risk of congenital malformations than those conceived before.
Radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been shown to cause mutations and genetic damage in animal and human sperm and there has been concern that men treated with those therapies could have an increased chance of having children with genetic disease or birth defects. Because testicular cancer affects younger men, the team were able to compare children conceived before and after their fathers received treatment.
Testicular Cancer
A person with testicular cancer may have a testicle that is three times its original size. The most cited risk factor is undescended testes.
The study data were from Swedish national birth registries, with 2 million Swedes born between 1994 and 2014. Limitations are a lack of data on frozen or donor sperm, and only a limited number of patients were treated with radiotherapy and high doses of chemotherapy. However, even for those children, no increased risk was detected.
Quiz on Testicular Cancer
Testicular cancer affects one or both testicles (also called testes or gonads). Testicles are a pair of male sex organs that produce and store sperm. Testicles are located under the penis in a sac-like pouch called the scrotum.
Yahia Al-Jebari says: "Our research set out to investigate whether treatment for the most common cancer among young men leads to a higher risk of fathering a child with a birth defect and we saw no increased risk associated with cancer therapies. We did see a slightly raised risk to children of these fathers but this was only very small and was not associated with treatment given. Patients should be reassured that this is not a cause for concern."
Source: Eurekalert
Drug-Induced Birth Defects
Birth defects are abnormalities of function, structure or metabolism that are present since birth. Taking certain drugs during pregnancy can cause birth defects.
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