Clomiphene Citrate Plus Gonadotropins and GnRH Antagonist Versus Flexible GnRH Antagonist Protocol Versus Microdose GnRH Agonist Protocol in Poor Responders Undergoing IVF

Summary

Poor ovarian response to stimulation in IVF cycles is a challenging and frustrating condition, due to its poor prognosis in terms of chances of pregnancy and live births. Various ovarian stimulation regimens have been tried to overcome these obstacles. A simple approach is increase the dose of the gonadotropin administration, but the results in terms of pregnancy rate are very low Another commonly used stimulation regimen is the microdose GnRH agonist protocol, which takes advantage of the initial rise in endogenous gonadotropins that follows the agonist administration in the early follicular phase and subsequently prevents a premature LH surge, with fewer cycle cancellations. However, their application in poor responders, even if in small doses and for a limited period, has been questioned as they may cause oversuppression of ovarian function, leading to a prolonged cycle and increased treatment costs without improving the outcomes.

Recently, GnRH antagonists were introduced in ART treatment. They are effective in preventing a premature LH surge and allow for a more natural recruitment of follicles in the follicular phase in a non-suppressed ovary, offering a potential alternative in the treatment of these patients. However, randomized studies evaluating the efficacy of this regimen in poor responders did not show any improvements in pregnancy rates. Current approach have included the addition of oral agents such us clomiphene citrate (CC) to gonadotropins. Some authors have investigated the role of CC in addition to low dose of gonadotropins in mild stimulation regimen, demonstrating that, despite a small number of retrieved oocytes, good quality embryos were produced with a subsequent improvement in the fertilization rate, clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate. The only study that evaluate the efficacy of CC in addition to high doses of gonadotropins in poor responders showed improving in number of retrieved oocytes, transferred embryos and biochemical pregnancy; however, clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate remained low and showed no measurable increase.

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of the CC as an adjunctive to a high dose of gonadotropins in cycles with antagonist protocols with the microdose GnRH agonist and flexible antagonist protocols in women who responded poorly to ovarian stimulation, to determine whether this protocol may improve IVF outcomes, offering a valid alternative in poor responder patients treatment.

Conditions

• Poor Responders
• IVF
• Clomiphene Citrate
• GnRH Agonist
• GnRH Antagonist

Interventions

DRUG

Clomiphene citrate

patients receive clomiphene citrate 100 mg daily starting on day 2 for 5 days and 450 IU recombinant FSH and 225 IU recombinant LH daily starting on day 5; Cetrorelix 0,25 mg was administered daily when one or more follicle reached 13-14 mm in diameter until the hCG injection

DRUG

Daily FSH and LH plus Cetrorelix

Women receive an initial daily dose of 450 IU recombinant FSH and 225 IU recombinant LH starting on day 3; Cetrorelix 0,25 mg was administered daily when one or more follicle reached 13-14 mm in diameter until the hCG injection.

DRUG

Triptorelin plus daily FSH anh LH

women receive short-acting Triptorelin 0,05 mg daily starting on day 1 until the hCG injection and 450 IU recombinant FSH and 225 IU recombinant LH daily starting on day 2.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Bioroma

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

25 Years

Max Age

44 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-01-31

Primary Completion

2014-10-31

Completion

2014-11-30

Countries

• Italy

Study Locations