Sperm antibodies and infertility in patients with testicular cancer

The level of antisperm antibodies using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the serum of 48 patients with testicular cancer before and after therapy is reviewed. This is not a linear study of each patient, but some conclusions can be drawn: (I) In a high percentage of testicular cancer patients serum antisperm antibodies can be detected: 73.3 per cent before orchiectomy and 43.7 per cent overall. (2) The percentage of patients with antibodies decreases with adequate therapy. (3) In patients with advanced disease there is a higher percentage of positivity (50 %) for serum antisperm antibodies than in patients with low-stage disease (30 %). (4) The higher percentage of antibodies-positive patients among those with infertility patterns could be an important argument that supports the hypothesis that autoimmune pathology can play a role in oligo/azoospermia in testicular cancer patients.