Effects of Calquence on sperm

[linnylee]

My husband 69 years old is on Calquence for CLL, he's had Chemo at least three times over about 15 years, Bad reactions to Rituxan, weird skin issues, looked like tick bullseye rings that started on the upper torso traveled down his body, down his arms and legs and then disappeared, he was in remission after the last chemo...Bendamustine for maybe eight years, then about four months ago he became pale and very anemic and was started on Prednisone, which always helps then weaned off starting Calquence and even though much improved he's still on the lower end of Hgb and Hct with higher WBC count...around 22K, main question that no one, not even the oncologist can seem to answer is how concentrated or possibly toxic is the Calquence in his sperm to his wife? Anyone? Thank you!

[AussieNeil Administrator]

Welcome to our community, which I see you've just joined. Given the sensitivity of the topic of your first post, you might like to lock it to our community as explained here: healthunlocked.com/cllsuppo... However, this is a topic of considerable interest to couples and may help others find our community.

The main concern is you becoming pregnant, which, unless you are much, much younger than your husband, is not going to be an issue (pun unintended). We don't know what risk to pregnancy or the child there is from BTKi drugs and given the typical age of those treated for CLL and their partners, pregnancy is usually unlikely anyway.

Most of the metabolites from BTKi drugs are eliminated in the faeces and a small amount in urine. If you calculate the amount ending up in semen of the total drug dose taken by your husband, it's a very small amount. I don't know of any studies, but I would say it's highly unlikely you'd experience any side effects from your exposure, though you might possibly lose a few B lymphocytes which I would suggest would be of negligible consequence to your immunity.

I'm not medically trained, but I hope the above considerations help you decide whether some extra closeness with your husband is worth the risk.

Neil

[linnylee in reply to AussieNeil]

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer.🙂

[LeoPa]

Perhaps fellation wouldn't be a good idea but regular intercourse no problem.