What is the effect of chemotherapy on male fertility?

When we see a man who comes to us with a diagnosis of cancer, and he’s told us that, or his physicians are telling us that, he’s going to be receiving chemotherapy, it provides a little bit of information, but not a lot of information, about what the patient’s long term reproductive prognosis is. There are a number of different effects that chemotherapies can have on patients, and a lot of the effects really depend on the duration of therapy, the dosage of the chemotherapy, and the combination of drugs that are used. For instance, the alkalating agents are the most, sort of, most detrimental class of agents; although they serve a vital role in saving an individual’s life, they can have a significantly negative effect on fertility. And so it’s hard for us when a patient comes to know for sure exactly what the long term prognosis will be for their fertility preservation.