Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31163029›Full record

Observational studyPLoS medicine2019

Cancer therapy and risk of congenital malformations in children fathered by men treated for testicular germ-cell cancer: A nationwide register study.

Yahia Al-Jebari, Ingrid Glimelius, Carina Berglund Nord, Gabriella Cohn-Cedermark, Olof Ståhl, Torgrim Tandstad, Allan Jensen, Hege Sagstuen Haugnes, Gedske Daugaard, Lars Rylander and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in PLoS medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Joint effects of IVF and cancer history on birth outcomes.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026
    Article
  3. Effects of Cytotoxic Therapies on the Sperm Genome and Epigenome.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.

Yahia Al-JebariMolecular Reproductive Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-2474-0471
Ingrid GlimeliusDepartment of Medicine, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-6158-3041
Carina Berglund NordDepartment of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Gabriella Cohn-CedermarkDepartment of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Olof StåhlDepartment of Oncology, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden.
Torgrim TandstadDepartment of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Allan JensenVirus, Lifestyle and Genes, Danish Cancer Society Research Center, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Hege Sagstuen HaugnesDepartment of Oncology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Gedske DaugaardDepartment of Oncology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-9618-9180
Lars RylanderDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Aleksander GiwercmanMolecular Reproductive Medicine, Department of Translational Medicine, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
Lund University · SEKarolinska University Hospital · SECopenhagen University Hospital · DKDanish Cancer Society · DKNorwegian University of Science and Technology · NOSkåne University Hospital · SEUniversity Hospital of North Norway · NOUppsala University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBecause of the potential mutagenic effects of chemo- and radiotherapy, there is concern regarding increased risk of congenital malformations (CMs) among children of fathers with cancer. Previous register studies indicate increased CM risk among children conceived after paternal cancer but lack data on oncological treatment. Increased CM risk was recently reported in children born before paternal cancer. This study aims to investigate whether anti-neoplastic treatment for testicular germ-cell cancer (TGCC) implies additional CM risk. METHODS AND

findingsIn this nationwide register study, all singletons born in Sweden 1994-2014 (n = 2,027,997) were included. Paternal TGCC diagnoses (n = 2,380), anti-neoplastic treatment, and offspring CMs were gathered from the Swedish Norwegian Testicular Cancer Group (SWENOTECA) and the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Children were grouped based on +/- paternal TGCC; treatment regimen: surveillance (n = 1,340), chemotherapy (n = 2,533), or radiotherapy (n = 360); and according to time of conception: pre- (n = 2,770) or post-treatment (n = 1,437). Odds ratios (ORs) for CMs were calculated using logistic regression with adjustment for parental ages, maternal body mass index (BMI), and maternal smoking. Children conceived before a specific treatment acted as reference for children conceived after the same treatment. Among children fathered by men with TGCC (n = 4,207), 184 had a CM. The risk of malformations was higher among children of fathers with TGCC compared with children fathered by men without TGCC (OR 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-1.38, p = 0.001, 4.4% versus 3.5%). However, no additional risk increase was associated with oncological treatment when comparing post-treatment-to pretreatment-conceived children (chemotherapy, OR = 0.82, 95% CI 0.54-1.25, p = 0.37, 4.1% versus 4.6%; radiotherapy, OR = 1.01, 95% CI 0.25-4.12, p = 0.98, 3.2% versus 3.0%). Study limitations include lack of data on use of cryopreserved or donor sperm and on seminoma patients for the period 1995-2000-both tending to decrease the difference between the groups with TGCC and without TGCC. Furthermore, the power of analyses on chemotherapy intensity and radiotherapy was limited.

conclusionsNo additional increased risk of CMs was observed in children of men with TGCC treated with radio- or chemotherapy. However, paternal TGCC per se was associated with modestly increased risk for offspring malformations. Clinically, this information can reassure concerned patients.

Indexed as

FathersRegistriesAbnormalities, Radiation-InducedAdultAntineoplastic AgentsChildFemaleHumansMaleNeoplasms, Germ Cell and EmbryonalNervous System MalformationsSwedenTesticular NeoplasmsAntineoplastic Agents

Identifiers

PMID31163029
PMCPMC6548355
OpenAlexW2948289562

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.