Effects of hormonal treatment on the contralateral descended testis in unilateral cryptorchidism

One of the therapeutic options in the treatment of cryptorchidism is hormonal therapy with luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) and/or human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG); concerns have, however, been raised regarding its safety. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that hormonal therapy improves the abnormal histology of the contralateral descended testis without harming the germ cells.

Patients with unilateral cryptorchidism were randomized into two groups: those treated with orchiopexy alone and those treated with LHRH long acting analog and HCG. Biopsies taken from contralateral descended testes were analyzed and compared with controls.

The number of germ cells per tubule in contralateral testes of patients treated with orchiopexy alone is significantly lower than the number of germ cells in testes of patients with spontaneously descended testes (P<0.0001). Hormonal therapy did not have any adverse effect upon the histology of the contralateral testis, but in fact improved it. Seven weeks of hormonal therapy induced a rise in the number of germ cells per tubule (P<0.05). It was also beneficial for the number of adult dark spermatogonia per tubule and the number of primary spermatocytes, although these differences did not reach statistical significance.

The contralateral testis in patients with unilateral cryptorchidism is abnormal. Hormonal therapy improves the histopathology of the contralateral testis without harming the germ cells.