PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 30-Jun-2014 Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Munich, 30 June 2014: A large multicentre trial seems finally to have resolved one of IVF's long-running controversies - whether the outlook for women with a poor IVF record can be improved by routine hysteroscopy performed before further IVF treatment.(1) For the TROPHY study, whose results are reported today at the 30th Annual Meeting of ESHRE in Munich by Dr Tarek El-Toukhy from Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital, London, has now found no significant difference in IVF success rates between those who had outpatient hysteroscopy performed before their IVF and those who didn't. "Based on these findings, outpatient hysteroscopy before IVF doesn't significantly improve IVF results and cannot be considered essential for women with recurrent IVF failure," said Dr El-Toukhy. Only around one-third of IVF cycles achieve a pregnancy, and unsuccessful attempts (implantation failure) can usually be explained by embryonic or uterine factors. As a result, outpatient hysteroscopy is performed routinely in many fertility clinics before further attempts, first diagnostically to visualise the surface of the uterus and check for any abnormal growths, and then operatively during the same procedure to remove these growths. … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 30-Jun-2014 Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Munich, 30 June 2014: There is "little evidence" that the use of conventional fertility hormones used for ovarian stimulation in the treatment of infertility increases the long-term risk of breast and gynecological cancers, according to the results of a substantial 30-year follow-up study. However, the extended use of clomiphene citrate was associated with a higher risk of breast cancer among women who had used the fertility drug for 12 cycles or more. Gonadotrophins, more commonly used for ovarian stimulation today, were not generally associated with any increased risk, except in a sub-group of women who remained childless after treatment. Results of the study, which was in part funded by the National Institutes of Health of the USA, are presented today at the Annual Meeting of ESHRE by Dr Humberto Scoccia from the University of Illinois at Chicago, USA. Dr Louise Brinton of the US National Cancer Institute was principal investigator.(1) The study was a retrospective investigation involving 12,193 women treated for infertility between 1965 and 1988 at five US sites. Follow-up lasted until 2010, with evaluation based on questionnaire and linkage to US death … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 30-Jun-2014 Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Munich, 30 June 2014: Children born to women with fertility problems have a higher risk of psychiatric disorders than naturally conceived children. The increase in risk was described as "modest" by researchers from Denmark, but was found to persist throughout childhood and into young adulthood. The results, which are presented today at the 30th Annual Meeting of ESHRE in Munich by Dr Allan Jensen of the Danish Cancer Society Research Center at the University of Copenhagen, were derived from a register study of all children born in Denmark between 1969 and 2006. From a grand total of 2,430,826 children, 124,384 (5%) were born to women with registered fertility problems and 2,306,442 children (95%) to women without such problems. All the children were followed up for psychiatric disorders until 2009. During this follow-up period (a median of around 20 years), 170,240 children were hospitalised for a psychiatric disorder. Those born to women with fertility problems were found to have a 33% greater overall risk of any defined psychiatric disorders, which was statistically significant (HR 1.33, 95% confidence interval 1.20-1.36). Statistically significant hazard ratios for specific … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 30-Jun-2014 Contact: Christine Bauquis christine@eshre.eu 32-499-258-046 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Munich, 30 June 2014: Despite emerging evidence of a decline in sperm quality with increasing age, an analysis of every first fertility treatment cycle performed in the UK using sperm donation shows that outcome in terms of live birth is not affected by the age of the sperm donor. Results from the study, said its principal investigator Dr Meenakshi Choudhary, from the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, reaffirm the observation that a couple's fertility appears significantly more dependent on the age of the female partner than on that of the male. The results of the study are reported this week at the Annual Meeting of ESHRE in Munich by Dr Choudhary's colleague, Commonwealth Clinical Fellow Dr Navdeep Ghuman. Their conclusions were derived from an analysis of all UK treatment cycles with sperm donation registered by the Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) between 1991 and 2012. From a total of more than 230,000 sperm donation cycles, 39,282 were from a first cycle of treatment (with either IVF or donor insemination) and were included in the analysis (a first cycle … Continue reading →