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Evaluation of the endometrial receptivity assay and the preimplantation genetic test for aneuploidy in overcoming recurrent implantation failure

  • Assisted Reproduction Technologies
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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the endometrial receptivity array (ERA) and the preimplantation genetic test for aneuploidy (PGT-A) in patients with severe and moderate recurrent implantation failure (RIF).

Design

A retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted in patients who failed to achieve implantation following transfer of 3 or more or 5 or more embryos in at least three single embryo transfers; patients were classified as moderate or severe RIF, respectively. Patients with previous RIF were compared based on the testing they received: PGT-A, ERA, or PGT-A+ERA versus a control group with no testing. Mean implantation rate and ongoing pregnancy rates per embryo transfer were considered primary outcomes. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed and adjusted ORs were calculated to control possible bias.

Results

Of the 2110 patients belonging to the moderate RIF group, those who underwent transfer of euploid embryos after PGT-A had a higher implantation rate than those who did not. Additionally, the PGT-A group had a significantly higher rate of ongoing pregnancy. The same outcomes measured for the 488 patients in the severe RIF group did not reveal any statistically significant improvements. The use of the ERA test did not appear to significantly improve outcomes in either group.

Conclusions

PGT-A may be beneficial for patients with moderate recurrent implantation failure but not for severe cases. At its current level of development, ERA does not appear to be clinically useful for patients with RIF.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the clinical directors of the participating IVI centers for their contribution to the data of the database analyzed. We also thank the team of Fresh Eyes Editing, LLC., especially Dr. Sheila Cherry, for their professional assistance in manuscript preparation.

Funding

This study was funded by IVIRMA global. No additional external funding was received for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Mauro Cozzolino: study design, data analysis, interpretation, and manuscript writing. Patricia Díaz-Gimeno: data analysis and interpretation, critical review, and final manuscript approval. Antonio Pellicer: study design, critical review and final manuscript approval. Nicolas Garrido: study design, statistical analysis, critical review, and final manuscript approval.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mauro Cozzolino.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethics approval

The study was approved to IVI Valencia Ethic Committee on 3rd March 2019 with number 1806-FIVI-048-AP.

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Cozzolino, M., Diaz-Gimeno, P., Pellicer, A. et al. Evaluation of the endometrial receptivity assay and the preimplantation genetic test for aneuploidy in overcoming recurrent implantation failure. J Assist Reprod Genet 37, 2989–2997 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01948-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-020-01948-7

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