Reproductive Issues in Long-Term Surviving Patients following Therapy for Hodgkin’s Disease in the Republic of North Macedonia: Risks of Infertility According to First-Line Treatment Regimens

Abstract

Infertility as a consequence of therapy presents a high psychosocial burden for HL patients. In the cohort of our analyzed patients, within the post-ABVD surviving patients, alterations of the spermogram were documented in a total of 6.1% of the male patients and 5.4% of the female patients developed amenorrhea. On the other hand, within the subgroup of surviving patients following BEACOPP chemotherapy, 60% of the male patients manifested defects in their spermogram, and as high as 28.6% of the female survivors reported loss of their monthly cycle. It has been reported on several occasions that even prior to treatment, the sperm of HL patients manifests poorer quality characteristics when analyzed against control specimens from healthy male donors. The analyzed results in ABVD-treated male HL patients confirm ABVD to be a safe regimen for males of all age categories, as well as for female patients under the age of thirty. In women above the age of 30, the infertility risk rate is relatively low (14%), which leaves the decision of preserving fertility to themselves. For all BEACOPP-treated female, as well as male patients, a consult with a reproductive medicine specialist is warranted prior to therapy, due to the high infertility risk, and the final decision should be made on an individual basis.