About this Research Topic
Azoospermia, which accounts for about 10%–15% of infertile men, is generally
classified as obstructive azoospermia (OA) due to male reproductive tract
obstruction and nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) due to testicular failure. NOA, the most severe type of male infertility, affects approximately 1% of men worldwide.
Through extraction of spermatozoa from the testes in combination with ICSI, a
subset of NOA patients can achieve biological parenthood. Although sperm retrieval techniques such as testicular sperm aspiration, conventional testicular sperm extraction (cTESE) and microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE) have been developed, only 52% of cases were reported obtaining successful sperm retrieval. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish which NOA patient has a good chance of testicular sperm extraction before sperm retrieval surgery. Numerous studies have reported that models based on serum hormones, including FSH, LH, testosterone, and inhibin B, could be used in predicting the presence of testicular spermatozoa in NOA patients but unfortunately, the specificity and sensitivity of these models are all moderate. A testicular biopsy is a powerful approach to achieving histological evaluation of the human testes, but this technique is invasive.
This Special Issue is focused on determining precise and noninvasive biomarkers for predicting whether there are testicular spermatozoa in NOA patients. In this special issue, we invite investigators to contribute articles focusing on the spectrum of biomarkers that may be further used to distinguish between NOA
patients with successful sperm retrieval (Sp+) and those who had failed sperm
retrieval (Sp-). Studies addressing this challenging issue at various levels in different tissues such as DNAs, RNAs, protein, and steroid levels in the blood and seminal fluid are especially welcomed.
Themes of particular interest include, but are not limited to:
Seminal biomarkers for predicting TESE outcome;
Blood biomarkers for predicting TESE outcome;
Studies evaluating the potential of extracellular vesicles in seminal plasma;
Omics studies for discoveries of reliable non-invasive diagnosis;
Using Artificial intelligence technology for the prediction of sperm retrieval
outcome
classified as obstructive azoospermia (OA) due to male reproductive tract
obstruction and nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) due to testicular failure. NOA, the most severe type of male infertility, affects approximately 1% of men worldwide.
Through extraction of spermatozoa from the testes in combination with ICSI, a
subset of NOA patients can achieve biological parenthood. Although sperm retrieval techniques such as testicular sperm aspiration, conventional testicular sperm extraction (cTESE) and microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE) have been developed, only 52% of cases were reported obtaining successful sperm retrieval. Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish which NOA patient has a good chance of testicular sperm extraction before sperm retrieval surgery. Numerous studies have reported that models based on serum hormones, including FSH, LH, testosterone, and inhibin B, could be used in predicting the presence of testicular spermatozoa in NOA patients but unfortunately, the specificity and sensitivity of these models are all moderate. A testicular biopsy is a powerful approach to achieving histological evaluation of the human testes, but this technique is invasive.
This Special Issue is focused on determining precise and noninvasive biomarkers for predicting whether there are testicular spermatozoa in NOA patients. In this special issue, we invite investigators to contribute articles focusing on the spectrum of biomarkers that may be further used to distinguish between NOA
patients with successful sperm retrieval (Sp+) and those who had failed sperm
retrieval (Sp-). Studies addressing this challenging issue at various levels in different tissues such as DNAs, RNAs, protein, and steroid levels in the blood and seminal fluid are especially welcomed.
Themes of particular interest include, but are not limited to:
Seminal biomarkers for predicting TESE outcome;
Blood biomarkers for predicting TESE outcome;
Studies evaluating the potential of extracellular vesicles in seminal plasma;
Omics studies for discoveries of reliable non-invasive diagnosis;
Using Artificial intelligence technology for the prediction of sperm retrieval
outcome
Keywords: Male infertility, Non-obstructive azoospermia, Sperm retrieval, Biomarker
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
