[Serum hormones that regulate the reproductive axis in men with testicular germ cell cancer and its impact on fertility].

Background: Epidemiological studies treat testicular germ cancer as a single disease, the behavior of the two histological types of cancer; seminoma and nonseminoma have differences in reproductive hormone secretion and impair fertility differently.

Objective: To demonstrate that the serum concentration of pituitary hormones involved in fertility and spermatogenesis in the affected male is different in the two histological types.

Methods: Were determined by radioimmunoassay or inmunoradiometric assay, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, total testosterone, prolactin, estradiol, human chorionic gonadotropin and alpha fetoprotein in 37 patients with germ cell cancer (15 seminoma and 22 nonseminoma) and 35 controls. We analyzed the semen of patients, and were questioned about paternity before the cancer diagnosis.

Results: Age was higher in patients with seminoma cancer, showed decreased luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, and testosterone and increased estradiol and prolactin in nonseminoma compared with seminoma. In patients with nonseminoma they had 9 children, 5 were oligozoospermic, 3 azoospermic and 6 normal concentration, 8 did not provide sample, seminoma group they had eight children, only one azoospermic, nine normal concentration, and 5 did not provide sample .

Conclusions: The hormonal behavior is different in men with nonseminoma compared with seminoma, so that the negative impact on the reproductive axis and fertility is higher in cases of non-seminoma.