Effects of taxane-based chemotherapy on inhibin B and gonadotropins as biomarkers of spermatogenesis

ObjectiveTo assess the effects of taxane-based chemotherapy on the male reproductive axis, and, therefore, its impact on spermatogenesis and fertility.DesignControlled clinical study.SettingPatients with cancer in an academic research environment.Patient(s)Forty male patients of reproductive age with cancer with solid tumor at diagnosis, who had been scheduled to receive taxane-based chemotherapy.Intervention(s)The patients were given treatment with docetaxel or paclitaxel combined with gemcitabine or carboplatin. Blood sampling and testicular ultrasonography were performed before and after completion of chemotherapy.Main Outcome Measure(s)In all patients, serum levels of inhibin B, FSH, and LH were measured, and, in half of the patients, bilateral testicular volume was also measured.Result(s)There was a statistically significant decrease in serum inhibin B and increase in serum FSH in all patients after the completion of the taxane-based chemotherapy. The median LH levels did not exhibit a statistically significant increase after the last cycle. Bilateral testicular volume exhibited a statistically significant decrease in 19 out of 20 patients (95%) after completion of chemotherapy.Conclusion(s)Taxane-based chemotherapy induces the reduction of inhibin B and the reciprocal elevation of FSH, which are associated with significant gonadal damage in the early stages after completion of chemotherapy.