[Antineoplastic chemotherapy and fertility disorders in males]

Germinal cells are particularly sensitive to cancer chemotherapy in males. This toxicity is difficult to evaluate. It is the most frequently observed in young patients treated for curable cancers, by alkylants, specially if the treatment is intense and long. Depending on the patient and his age, on the cancer and its treatment, recovery of a normal spermatogenesis may be observed in a minority of cases and sometimes lately. This hazard must be told to the patient who is invited to preserve his sperm which is not always of enough good quality. There is no proved means to protect gonadal function. Therefore modifications of chemotherapy are desirable to decrease its toxicity.