Elevated follicle-stimulating hormone levels and the chances for azoospermic men to become fathers after retrieval of elongated spermatids from cryopreserved testicular tissue

ObjectiveTo assess individual chances for a live-born child in azoospermic men by performance of testicular sperm extraction (TESE) followed by intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI).DesignA retrospective cohort study.SettingAn academic fertility care center and research unit.Patient(s)Two hundred three couples who wished to have a child; all men had azoospermia.Intervention(s)All men were operated for TESE; 112 men were found to have elongated spermatids (ES), and 209 ICSI cycles were performed in these men using cryopreserved tissue.Main Outcome Measure(s)Predictors for the chances to obtain live sperm and for probabilities of fertilization, clinical pregnancies, and live births.Result(s)Testicular volume, FSH, and inhibin B levels were predictors for the presence of ES. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection resulted in 23 pregnancies, leading to 20 live births. Despite the presence of ES and performance of ICSI in cases of FSH levels ≥20 IU/L, no pregnancy resulted in these men (n = 21). Receiver operating characteristics revealed FSH levels of ≥20 IU/L as cutoff for treatment success. The number of testicular tubuli containing ES served as a predictor for clinical pregnancy as well as for live birth. Cigarette smoking by the male partner exerted a significant negative influence on treatment success.Conclusion(s)The degree of completely maintained spermatogenesis within the biopsy appears to reflect intrinsic abilities of spermatozoa to induce normal embryo development. Charts based on regression models are presented for counseling patients before TESE; these explain chances of finding ES and probability of successful ICSI. Obtaining offspring is unlikely in cases of azoospermia and of FSH levels of ≥20 IU/L.