IVF characteristics and the molecular luteal features of random start IVF cycles are not different from conventional cycles in cancer patients

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONAre the IVF parameters and the steroidogenic luteal characteristics of random-start IVF cycles different from conventional cycles in cancer patients?SUMMARY ANSWERNo; controlled ovarian stimulation cycles randomly started at late follicular phase (LFP) and luteal phase (LP) are totally comparable to those conventional IVF cycles started at early follicular phase (EFP) in terms of the expression of the enzymes involved in cholesterol utilization and steroid hormone biosynthesis pathways, gonadotropin receptor expression and, estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) production in addition to the similarities in ovarian response to gonadotropin stimulation, oocyte yield, fertilization rate and embryo development competency in cancer patients.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYRandom start ovarian stimulation protocols are commonly employed for oocyte and embryo freezing for fertility preservation in cancer patients with time constraints who do not have sufficient time to undergo ovarian stimulation initiated conventionally at EFP of the next cycle. No data is available regarding the molecular steroidogenic features of these cycles analyzed together with the clinical IVF characteristics in cancer patients. We aimed to address this question in this study to help understand how similar the random start cycles are to the conventional start ones.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONA clinical translational research study conducted in 62 cancer patients undergoing IVF for fertility preserv...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research