A monkey born of a "frozen testicle" gives hope to cancer patients

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Researchers have discovered a new medical breakthrough that would give hope to male infertility patients treated for cancer, with a way to freeze the testicles.

Powerful chemotherapy and radiation therapy can damage the undeveloped testis and about a third of men who have survived cancer are sterile at puberty.

But researchers have discovered the possibility of extracting testicular tissue at an early age and freezing it. It seems that the experience of the developed technology has been successful in the monkey and can be used soon in humans.

The experts said the study, published in the journal Science, was a "major step" in the development of treatments to restore fertility in men, who may become infertile.

In the monkey experiment, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine extracted the testes from 5 small monkeys and froze living tissues. The animals were then subjected to chemotherapy.

When the monkeys approached puberty, tissue samples were dissolved and replanted in monkeys. The team found that after a few months, testicular tissue produced sperm used to generate embryos.

The female Grady was born in April 2018. One of the authors of the study, Dr. Aditongi Fiumi, said: "With the birth of Grady, we were able to prove the principle of the preservation of testicular tissue before puberty, then use it to restore fertility to adulthood. "

The researchers said the study was the first in the field to prove that testicular tissue could be maintained by refrigeration and reimplantation, which would lead to the development of sperm that can produce live embryos.

Although the application of this study to humans requires careful clinical studies, the results give real hope that sterile men can be born through cancer treatment.

Source: the sun