Essentials of Genetics 9th Edition by Michael Palladino William Klug, Michael Cummings, Charlotte Spencer

Exercise 2

Timing is everything
A man in his early 20s received chemotherapy and radiotherapy as treatment every 60 days for Hodgkin's disease. After unsuccessful attempts to have children, he had his sperm examined at a fertility clinic, upon which multiple chromosomal irregularities were discovered. When examined within 5 days of a treatment, extra chromosomes were often present or one or more chromosomes were completely absent. However, such irregularities were not observed at day 38 after treatment nor anytime after day 38.
Do you think that exposure to chemotherapy and radiotherapy of a spermatogonium would cause more problems than exposure to a secondary spermatocyte?