Sperm Banking Among Adolescents Newly Diagnosed With Cancer: Development of a Profiling and Referral Tool

Despite the known adverse effects of specific cancer treatments on fertility, only 18-26% of at-risk adolescents and young men cryopreserve sperm prior to cancer treatment in the US: These already less than optimal rates of sperm banking are even lower among adolescents who have increased anxiety at cancer diagnosis, are lower in age and socioeconomic status, of Evangelical religious orientation, or are diagnosed with leukemia/lymphoma: It is not clear why sperm banking is underutilized, particularly in light of the high priority that survivors of childhood cancer place on fertility and the high psychological distress associated with fertility loss. Studies addressing sperm banking among adults with cancer suggest that factors such as poor physician communication and the resulting lack of fertility-risk knowledge by patients contributes to the low frequency of sperm cryopreservation. No well-designed studies have examined risk factors associated with failure to bank sperm among adolescents with cancer, a developmentally distinct population ripe for intervention.

This study plans to enroll 206 adolescent males and 412 parents/guardians.

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Key information

Conditions

Cancer Genital Diseases Infertility Neoplasms Urogenital Diseases

Age range

13 year–21 year

Sex eligibility

Male

Study type

Observational

Primary location

The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

About this study

This study will identify factors predictive of sperm banking/not sperm banking in order to design interventions for increasing fertility preservation among adolescent males newly diagnosed with cancer. Specifically, this study aims to investigate psychological, demographic, developmental, parent/guardian, provider, and medical factors predictive of sperm banking outcomes among at-risk adolescents with cancer. Once these factors have been identified, the study will develop a novel Profiling and Referral Tool. This instrument will ultimately serve as an intervention for both healthcare providers and families through the facilitation of appropriate referrals, and tailored interventions for decreasing barriers to sperm banking. Finally, the feasibility of the Profiling and Referral tool will be evaluated based on provider and family report.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Male participants newly diagnosed with cancer.
Patients must be between 13 years of age (≥ 13 years) and 21 years of age (< 22 years) at time of study enrollment.
Participant Identified as Tanner stage III or higher.
Participant identified by his oncologist (or designee) as being at risk for treatment-related infertility.
Proficiency speaking and reading English or Spanish.
Cognitive capacity to complete study questionnaires.

Exclusion criteria

Participant previously treated for cancer.
History of mental retardation or severe cognitive or learning impairment.

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

Investigation of factors predictive of sperm banking outcome

Time frame: 3 years

Investigate factors predictive of banking sperm/not banking sperm among at-risk adolescents newly diagnosed with cancer. Psychological, health belief, demographic, developmental, parental/guardian, provider, and medical factors will be tested in models of sperm banking outcome.

Secondary outcomes

Develop and evaluate a Profiling and Referral Tool designed to increase clinical referrals and decrease barriers to sperm banking.

Time frame: 3 years

To utilize factors most predictive of sperm banking outcome to develop a brief Profiling and Referral Tool designed to increase sperm banking among teens newly diagnosed with cancer. Implementation of the developed Profiling and Referral Tool will be feasible based on provider and family report.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Other

Collaborators

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Registry information

Official study title

Predictors of Adolescent Sperm Banking: Development of a Profiling and Referral Tool

Important dates

Study start: 2010
Primary completion: 2014
Study completion: 2014
First posted: Jun 29, 2010
Registry last updated: Mar 10, 2015

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.

Completed