Although decreases in pulmonary function are frequent, they are rarely symptomatic and are reversible after the completion of chemotherapy. There has been a report that men treated curatively for germ cell tumors with cisplatin-based regimens have had elevations in total serum cholesterol. However, this could not be confirmed in another study. Radiation therapy, often used in the management of pure seminomatous germ cell cancers, has been linked to the development of secondary cancers, especially solid tumors in the radiation portal, usually after a latency period of a decade or more. These include cancers of the stomach, bladder, colon, rectum, and possibly the pancreas.
Many patients have oligospermia or sperm abnormalities prior to therapy.
Radiation therapy, used to treat pure seminomatous testicular cancers, can cause fertility problems due to radiation scatter to the remaining testicle during radiation to retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Depending on scatter dose, sperm counts fall after radiation, but may recover over the course of 1 to 2 years. Shielding techniques can be used to decrease the radiation scatter to the remaining normal testicle. As with treatment with chemotherapy, some men have been reported to father children after radiation treatment of seminoma, and the children do not appear to have a high risk of congenital malformations. Though testicular cancer is highly curable, all newly diagnosed patients are appropriately considered candidates for clinical trials designed to decrease morbidity of treatment while further improving cure rates.