Study of the prevalence of azoospermia in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma prior to treatment

BACKGROUND: Infertility is one of the main problems of patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma, as this causes specific effects in the social, family, and emotional life of patients. Hodgkin's lymphoma is a neoplastic disorder that comprises of 0.6% of all cancers and often occurs in middle-aged people, with a mean age of 26 years. It originates from neoplastic changes in the lymphoid cells, which lead to different complications in the body organs. One important complication of Hodgkin's lymphoma is humoral and cellular immune system dysfunction that can cause numerous and dangerous problems for patients. Another complication of Hodgkin's lymphoma is sterility, more specifically hypogonadism and azoospermia. Sterility may appear after treatment. Considering that most patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma have a good survival, diagnosing and treating this complication and preventing its incidence contributes to improving the quality of social life and emotional status of these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, 238 patients whose Hodgkin's lymphoma was approved by Pathology were included in the study, before receiving any medical intervention, and they were examined for sterility (sperm status). Sterility of the male patients was confirmed using a spermogram test. The serum levels of the luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone (T) were checked. RESULTS: Among the studied patients, 24 patients (10.08%) suffered from azoospermia, which was evident in its progressive stages. CONCLUSION: In such cases, treatment of Hodgkin's lymphoma and improvement of the immune system could overcome azoospermia and sterility.