Effect of Drug Treatment for Lymphoma on Male Reproductive Capacity

Reproductive function was evaluated in 16 men who had been treated with a combination of nitrogen mustard, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP); a similar combination, with methotrexate instead of procarbazine (MOMP); cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (CVP); or cyclophosphamide for lymphoma, were in remission, and had received no therapy for 6 months to 7 years. Although libido and potency were normal in all patients, 10 men were azoospermic, and testicular biopsy showed complete absence of germ cells; 2 men showed minimal evidence of spermatogenesis; and 4 men, in remission for 2 to 7 years, showed complete spermatogenesis at the time of their evaluation. Within each treatment group the men with evidence of normal germinal tissue were those who had been in remission longest for that group. These data suggest that spermatogenesis may return after extensive chemotherapy but that this is more likely to occur more than 2 years after drug treatment.