Children of men who suffer from fertility problems have a higher risk of developing cancer at a young age, research suggests.
The first of its kind study found that families of men who had very few or no sperm in their semen were up to 150 percent more likely to be diagnosed with tumors than families of men who had normal sperm counts.
For the study, researchers used Utah databases to collect information about the men’s first relatives (parents, siblings, or children), second relatives (grandparents or nieces and nephews), and third relatives (great-grandparents or uncles and aunts). grandparents).
The risk and type of cancer varied greatly depending on how low the men’s sperm counts were.
It is not known how many men in the United States experience low or no sperm count, but previous data has estimated that one in 20 men experience infertility.
The researchers did not conclude why there was a link between sperm count and cancer, but are now conducting genetic sequencing to look for specific genetic mutations that may be driving the associations.
The study found that among family members of men without sperm, the results showed a 156 percent increased risk of bone and joint cancer, a 60 percent increased risk of lymphomas, a 56 percent increased risk of tissue cancer soft tissues, a 54 percent increased risk of thyroid cancers, and a 27 percent increased risk of uterine cancers.
For relatives of men with low sperm levels, the results showed a 143 percent increased risk of bone and joint cancer, a 134 percent increased risk of testicular cancer, and a 16 percent increased risk of colon cancer.
However, one cancer had a lower associated risk: esophageal cancer with a 61 percent lower risk.
Study author Joemy Ramsay of the University of Utah said, “When family members share cancer risk patterns, it suggests they have common genetic, environmental, or health behaviors.”
“By identifying which groups of families have similar cancer risk patterns we can improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms of both cancer and infertility.
“It will help us assess cancer risk for families and provide better counseling to patients.”
The cause of male infertility is unknown in approximately 40 percent of cases.
The researchers did not conclude why there was a link between sperm count and cancer, but are now conducting genetic sequencing to look for specific genetic mutations that may be driving the associations.
Researchers analyzed data from 1996 to 2017 on 786 men who visited fertility clinics in Utah and compared them to 5,600 men with at least one child in the general population.
Among the men with fertility problems, 426 had no sperm and 360 had very low sperm levels.
A typical sperm count is more than 15 million sperm per 1 milliliter of semen.
A low sperm count, medically called oligospermia or oligozoospermia, is defined as having fewer than 15 million sperm in 1 milliliter of semen.
The absence of sperm in semen is called azoospermia.
A low sperm count is often accompanied by poor motility (the ability of sperm to move efficiently through the partner’s reproductive tract) and low-quality sperm, which can make conception difficult.
The cause of male infertility is unknown in approximately 40 percent of cases.
While many infertile men may have low or no sperm counts, some have normal counts and their infertility may be due to genetics, medical conditions, hormonal disorders, environmental factors such as radiation and high temperatures, and lifestyle choices such as illicit drug use and excessive alcohol consumption. .
Male infertility is the sole or contributing factor in approximately half of the cases in which couples seek assisted reproduction treatment.
In it studywhat was it published in the journal Human Reproduction, Among the family of men without sperm, the researchers identified 13 family groups.
One of the groups, which included 66 percent of the families, had a cancer risk similar to the risk of the general population.
However, the remaining 12 family groups had an increased risk of developing at least one type of cancer.
Several of the groups also showed an increased risk of adolescent and young adult cancers and two groups showed an increased risk of childhood cancers.
Among relatives of men with very low sperm levels, there were 12 groups and all had a higher risk of suffering from a type of cancer.
Five groups saw an increased risk of cancer diagnosis at a young age; three showed an increased risk of cancer in young adults and adolescents; and two groups showed an increased risk of pediatric cancer.
The researchers believe that the wide range of cancer risks among family members could be due to widely varying levels of subfertility and infertility, as men had a wide range of sperm counts that were considered low.