Patients received their transplants for a variety of malignant and nonmalignant conditions.
“We saw relatively normal gonadotropins after both reduced intensity and myeloablative conditioning in males,” Dr. Oquendo del Toro said. Of the MAC group, 4 of 15 (27%) had elevated follicle stimulating hormone levels, as did 2 of 17 (12%) of the RIC group. Elevated luteinizing hormone levels were seen in 2 of 15 (13%) of the MAC group and 1 of 17 (6%) of the RIC group. Four patients in each group had abnormally low testosterone levels.
However, when the investigators looked at inhibin B levels in males, they found abnormally low levels in 9 of 15 (60%) of those who received MAC, and in 6 of 15 (40%) of those who received RIC. These results meshed with the severely abnormal semen analyses investigators found from those participants for whom a sample was available, Dr. Oquendo del Toro said.
For females, estradiol levels were significantly lower for those who had received MAC, with 7 of 11 (64%) of that group having abnormally low estradiol levels. The levels approached 0 pg/mL for many, said Dr. Oquendo del Toro. None of the eight patients who had received RIC had abnormally low estradiol levels (P = .0008).