Sperm chromosome studies in individuals treated for testicular cancer.

Sperm chromosome studies have shown that patients treated with chemotherapy for testicular cancer have a much higher incidence of chromosome abnormalities than patients treated for other types of cancer or than controls. In two out of four cases, penetration of zona-free hamster eggs was close to zero, indicating that after 2-7 years after treatment the functional capacity of the sperm had not been recuperated. The cytogenetic study of the spermatozoa shows that many of the abnormalities observed corresponded to structural aberrations that may not have a pathogenic effect in the production of abortions or of children with chromosome abnormalities.