Successful sperm extraction and live birth after radiation, androgen deprivation and surgical castration for treatment of metastatic prostate cancer.

Fertility preservation has become an important aspect of cancer treatment given the gonadotoxic effects of oncologic therapies. It is now considered standard of care to offer sperm banking to men undergoing treatment for primaries that affect young individuals. Less is known regarding fertility preservation of patients afflicted with prostate cancer. This cohort has progressively expanded and grown younger in the post-PSA era. Prostatectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and androgen blockade all pose unique challenges to the infertility specialist. Optimum management becomes even more uncertain for those men with metastatic prostate cancer. Most of these individuals will have received multiple forms of therapy, each carrying a distinct insult to the patient's reproductive potential. We describe a case of successful ex vivo sperm extraction and live birth in a patient previously treated with radiation and chronic androgen deprivation for metastatic prostate cancer. The presented case demonstrates that conception after radiation therapy and chronic androgen deprivation is feasible. We propose that fertility counselling and sperm cryopreservation should be considered for all prostate cancer patients. Additionally, for those individuals undergoing external beam radiotherapy, testicular shielding should be routinely offered in the event further family building is desired.