O-229 Impact of letrozole co-treatment during ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins for in vitro fertilisation (IVF): a multicentre, randomised, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial

AbstractStudy questionDoes reducing estradiol levels with letrozole co-treatment during ovarian stimulation with gonadotropins for IVF impact endocrinological and reproductive outcome markers in expected normal responders?Summary answerLetrozole co-treatment maintained follicular phase physiological serum estradiol levels, increased gonadotropin and androgen levels, and increased progesterone in the luteal phase.What is known alreadyOvarian stimulation for IVF causes supraphysiologic estradiol levels, which exert pituitary suppression reducing gonadotropin stimulation of the corpus luteum. Furthermore, stimulation may increase progesterone in the late follicular phase, reported to impair clinical outcomes, through a putative effect on endometrial maturation and embryo-endometrial asynchrony. Co-treatment with the highly selective aromatase inhibitor letrozole during ovarian stimulation has been shown to reduce estradiol levels and FSH consumption in poor responders, but conflicting data in relation to oocyte yield and implantation rates. The impact of letrozole co-treatment on hormonal changes and reproductive outcome after co-treatment in normal responders remains to be clarified.Study design, size, durationA multicentre double-blinded randomised placebo-controlled trial conducted in 4 fertility clinics at university hospitals in Denmark from August 2016 to November 2018. 159 women were randomised and 129 completed the study; 67 women in the letrozole group and 62 women in t...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research