Deep Frozen Testicle Tissue Gives Hope for Young Cancer Patients

Scientists from Japan's Yokohama City University Association of Medical Science may have stumbled onto a technique that can preserve the fertility of boys facing cancer treatments. For the first time, scientists have been able to produce live offspring from deep-frozen testicle tissues, according to a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications.

Using cypropreservation, also known as a deep freezing technique, researchers were able to help mice subjects have eight healthy offspring that were born from sperm produced by previously frozen and thawed testicle tissue.

"The cryopreservation of testicle tissue may be a realistic measure for preserving fertility," the team, led by Takehiko Ogawa of Japan's Yokohama City University Association of Medical Science, wrote in the study.

As cancer treatments often increase the risk of infertility, many childtren who may need to undergo the process are opting for preservation techniques. At this time, such treatments are only be available for boys who have reached puberty. Yet researchers are discovering ways that could help prepubescent cancer patients have more of a chance of producing their own children later in life.

For their study, researchers use cryopreservation on testicular tissues in newborn mice by either slow-freezing or vitrification--a specialized fast-freezing technique.

After the thawing process ended, the tissues were cultured and spermatogenesis induced. The thawed tissues could just as easily produce sperm tissue samples as unfrozen sperm, according to the researchers.

Researchers then used micro-insemination with tissues that had been deep-frozen for about four months. This resulted in eight offspring who were also able to reproduce.

An estimated 70 to 90 percent of children with cancer will grow to adulthood. Now, doctors can further focus on improving their quality of life.