Association of Endometrial Thickness with Live Birth Rate: a Study Utilizing the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System.

Objective: To assess the relationship between endometrial thickness and live birth rates in fresh embryo transfer and frozen embryo transfer with and without preimplantation genetic testing.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System (SART CORS).

Subjects: Autologous IVF fresh and frozen embryo transfer cycles initiated in 2019-2020.

Multimodal Radiographic Diagnosis of a Complex Müllerian Anomaly: A Case Report.

As evidenced by the 2021 American Society for Reproductive Medicine Müllerian Anomaly Classification (ASRM MAC), there are numerous possible configurations of the female genitourinary system. Some anomalies place patients at higher risk of infertility, miscarriage, fetal malpresentation, and preterm labor. Correct characterization of Müllerian anomalies is critical for proper infertility treatment and pregnancy counseling.

Geographic Access to Fertility Counseling among Adolescent and Young Adult Women with Cancer in North Carolina.

Background: Fertility counseling is recommended for adolescent and young adult women facing gonadotoxic cancer therapy. However, fertility care is subspecialized medical care offered at a limited number of institutions, making geographic access a potential barrier to guideline-concordant care. We assessed the relationship between geographic access and receipt of fertility counseling among adolescent and young adult women with cancer.

Pathologic maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with programmed embryo transfer: potential etiologies and strategies for prevention.

Purpose: In the first of two companion papers, we comprehensively reviewed the recent evidence in the primary literature, which addressed the increased prevalence of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, late-onset or term preeclampsia, fetal overgrowth, postterm birth, and placenta accreta in women conceiving by in vitro fertilization. The preponderance of evidence implicated frozen embryo transfer cycles and, specifically, those employing programmed endometrial preparations, in the higher risk for these adverse maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes. Based upon this critical appraisal of the primary literature, we formulate potential etiologies and suggest strategies for prevention in the second article.

Pathologic maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with programmed embryo transfer.

Purpose: In this first of two companion papers, we critically review the evidence recently published in the primary literature, which addresses adverse maternal and neonatal pregnancy outcomes associated with programmed embryo transfer cycles. We next consider whether these pathological pregnancy outcomes might be attributable to traditional risk factors, unknown parental factors, embryo culture, culture duration, or cryopreservation. Finally, in the second companion article, we explore potential etiologies and suggest strategies for prevention.

Uterine Fibroids and Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Capsule: In this study the presence of uterine fibroids was significantly associated with an increased risk of development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy even when accounting for age and BMI in meta-regression. This finding has potential implications for risk stratification and monitoring for hypertension during pregnancy in this population.

Objective: To examine the association between uterine fibroids and the development of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.

Outcomes in biomarker-selected subgroups from the KESTREL study of durvalumab and tremelimumab in recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Selective biomarkers may improve outcomes in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (R/M HNSCC) treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. We investigated three independent biomarkers for association with efficacy in the randomized, phase III KESTREL study (NCT02551159) of first-line durvalumab monotherapy or durvalumab plus tremelimumab versus the EXTREME regimen: programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemistry, blood tumor mutational burden (bTMB) via circulating tumor DNA, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR).

Methods: Tumor or blood samples from patients enrolled in the KESTREL study were analyzed for PD-L1, bTMB, and NLR.

Biomarkers Assessing the Role of Cumulus Cells on IVF Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: Although significant improvements in assisted reproductive technology (ART) outcomes have been accomplished, a critical question remains: which embryo is most likely to result in a pregnancy? Embryo selection is currently based on morphological and genetic criteria; however, these criteria do not fully predict good-quality embryos and additional objective criteria are needed. The cumulus cells are critical for oocyte and embryo development. This systematic review assessed biomarkers in cumulus-oocyte complexes and their association with successful IVF outcomes.

Causal inference indicates that poor responders have similar outcomes with the antagonist protocol compared with flare.

Objective: To use causal inference to investigate whether the flare or antagonist protocol is better for poor responders going through controlled ovarian stimulation.

Design: A retrospective study.

Setting: Retrieval cycles from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcomes Reporting System.

Disparities in Fertility-Sparing Treatment and Use of Assisted Reproductive Technology After a Diagnosis of Cervical, Ovarian, or Endometrial Cancer.

Objective: To assess the presence of sociodemographic and clinical disparities in fertility-sparing treatment and assisted reproductive technology (ART) use among patients with a history of cervical, endometrial, or ovarian cancer.

Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of patients aged 18-45 years who were diagnosed with cervical cancer (stage IA, IB), endometrial cancer (grade 1, stage IA, IB), or ovarian cancer (stage IA, IC) between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2015, using linked data from the CCR (California Cancer Registry), the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. The primary outcome was receipt of fertility-sparing treatment , defined as surgical or medical treatment to preserve the uterus and at least one ovary.

A higher number of oocytes retrieved is associated with an increase in fertilized oocytes, blastocysts, and cumulative live birth rates.

Objective: To investigate the association between the number of oocytes retrieved and the numbers of fertilized oocytes and blastocysts and cumulative and primary transfer live birth rates (LBRs).

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Retrieval cycles and linked embryo transfers from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System.

Disparities in the use of assisted reproductive technologies after breast cancer: a population-based study.

Purpose: Equitable access to oncofertility services is a key component of cancer survivorship care, but factors affecting access and use remain understudied.

Methods: To describe disparities in assisted reproductive technology (ART) use among women with breast cancer in California, we conducted a population-based cohort study using linked oncology, ART, and demographic data. We identified women age 18-45 years diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 2000 and 2015.

Association between programmed frozen embryo transfer and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.

Dissociation of embryo transfer from the ovarian stimulation cycle has afforded patients increased flexibility for genetic testing and fertility preservation. Although frozen embryo transfer (FET) has largely been demonstrated to be safe and effective compared with fresh transfer, programmed FET cycles, where a corpus luteum is absent, have come under increasing scrutiny. In observational trials, programmed FET protocols appear to be associated with an increased risk of ineffective decidualization and impaired placental function.

The risks of birth defects and childhood cancer with conception by assisted reproductive technology.

Study Question: Is there an association between fertility status, method of conception and the risks of birth defects and childhood cancer?

Summary Answer: The risk of childhood cancer had two independent components: (i) method of conception and (ii) presence, type and number of birth defects.

What Is Known Already: The rarity of the co-occurrence of birth defects, cancer and ART makes studying their association challenging. Prior studies have indicated that infertility and ART are associated with an increased risk of birth defects or cancer but have been limited by small sample size and inadequate statistical power, failure to adjust for or include plurality, differences in definitions and/or methods of ascertainment, lack of information on ART treatment parameters or study periods spanning decades resulting in a substantial historical bias as ART techniques have improved.

Association between embryo morphological quality and birth weight for singletons conceived via autologous fresh embryo transfer: an analysis using Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinical Outcomes Reporting System.

Objective: To determine if morphologically suboptimal embryo quality is associated with adverse perinatal outcomes.

Design: A retrospective cohort.

Setting: SART CORS database.

Poor reproducibility of percentage of normally shaped sperm using the World Health Organization Fifth Edition strict grading criteria.

Objective: To determine the reproducibility of the World Health Organization Fifth Edition (WHO5) strict grading methodology by comparing the percentage of morphologically normal sperm (PNS) recorded by the core laboratory with results obtained at the fertility centers participating in a multisite clinical trial.

Design: Secondary cohort analysis of data from the Males, Antioxidants, and Infertility trial.

Setting: Fertility centers.

Survival outcomes following pregnancy or assisted reproductive technologies after breast cancer: A population-based study.

Background: This study sought to determine the impact of pregnancy or assisted reproductive technologies (ART) on breast-cancer-specific survival among breast cancer survivors.

Methods: The authors performed a cohort study using a novel data linkage from the California Cancer Registry, the California birth cohort, and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System data sets. They performed risk-set matching in women with stages I-III breast cancer diagnosed between 2000 and 2012.

Polycystic ovary syndrome: a "risk-enhancing" factor for cardiovascular disease.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among women of reproductive age and is hallmarked by hyperandrogenism, oligo-ovulation, and polycystic ovarian morphology. Polycystic ovary syndrome, particularly the hyperandrogenism phenotype, is associated with several cardiometabolic abnormalities, including obesity, dyslipidemia, elevated blood pressure, and prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. Many, but not all, studies have suggested that PCOS is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease and stroke, independent of body mass index and traditional risk factors.

Disparities in fertility preservation use among adolescent and young adult women with cancer.

Purpose: Women face multiple barriers to fertility preservation after cancer diagnosis, but few studies have examined disparities in use of these services.

Methods: Women aged 15-39 years diagnosed with cancer during 2004-2015 were identified from the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry and linked to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcomes Reporting System. Women who cryopreserved oocytes or embryos for fertility preservation (n = 96) were compared to women who received gonadotoxic treatment but did not use fertility preservation (n = 7964).

Predicting personalized cumulative live birth following in vitro fertilization.

Objective: To develop in vitro fertilization (IVF) prediction models to estimate the individualized chance of cumulative live birth at two time points: pretreatment (i.e., before starting the first complete cycle of IVF) and posttreatment (i.