Spermatogonial Stem Cell (SSC) Transplant and Testicular Tissue Grafting

April 18, 2026 updated by: Kyle Orwig, University of Pittsburgh
Spermatogonial stem cell transplantation through ultrasound guided rete testis injection and testicular tissue grafting will be performed for participants who have frozen testicular tissue prior to gonadotoxic therapy. The purpose of this study is to test the safety and feasibility of these transplant technologies and restore fertility for these participants.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Azoospermia (no sperm in ejaculated semen) impacts 1% of men in the general population and 15% of infertile men, which translates to 645,000 males between the ages of 20 and 50 (prime reproductive years) in the United States. Spermatogenesis arises from a population of spermatogonial stem cells in the testes that maintain continuous sperm production throughout a man's post-pubertal life. Diseases or medical treatments that compromise the stem cell pool and/or prevent the stem cells from differentiating can cause infertility. Adult men have the option to cryopreserve a semen sample prior to therapy but this is not an option for prepubertal patients who are not yet producing sperm. This study will test the safety and feasibility of two approaches to restore sperm production using previously cryopreserved testicular tissues, which contain spermatogonial stem cells.

The first approach is autologous transplantation of testicular cells, including spermatogonial stem cells, into the testis using ultrasound-guided rete testis injection. The second approach is autologous grafting of intact pieces of testicular tissue under the skin in the scrotum.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

10

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Male participant at least in Tanner stage 3
  • Previously cryopreserved and stored testicular tissue/cells (frozen due to an infertility-risking diagnosis or treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation) available for autologous transplantation and grafting
  • Healthy enough to undergo anesthesia
  • Written clearance for the procedure from the patient's hematologist or oncologist to confirm the patient has finished treatment for primary condition and are clear to undergo autologous stem cell transplant

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants considered to be high risk for surgical complications
  • Participants with a history of leukemia, lymphoma or testicular cancer or a cancer that likely involved testicles at the time of testicular tissue collection
  • Diagnosed with psychological, psychiatric, or other conditions which prevent giving fully informed consent.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Spermatogonial Stem Cell Transplant & Testicular Tissue Graft
Stem cell transplantation Testicular tissue grafting
Procedure: Spermatogonial Stem Cell Transplant and Testicular Tissue Grafting
Spermatogonial stem cell transplant and testicular tissue grafting is performed to produce sperm.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of participants with return of spermatogenesis
Time Frame: 3 months-1year
Rate of participants where sperm was found in semen analysis or testicular tissue analysis
3 months-1year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of participants with cancer recurrence
Time Frame: 5 years
Rate of participants diagnosed with cancer recurrence
5 years
Number of participants with surgical complications of SSC transplantation and testicular tissue grafting
Time Frame: 3 months
Rate of infection, hospital readmission, re-operation occurs
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kyle E Orwig, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

November 10, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 28, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 31, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 18, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 25, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

June 30, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 22, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 18, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY20030111

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

The investigators will publish individual participant data, after deidentification. The investigators will also report each individual participants data back to them. Participants will be identified with unique ID numbers. No identifiable information will be shared.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Beginning 9 months and ending 36 months following article publication.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal. Proposals should be directed at korwig@mwri.magee.edu

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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