Some Prognostic Cutoff Values ​​for Poor Response of Amh


54% but the live birth rate per cycle is about 9.5%, so people do not rely on AMH levels to recommend delaying infertility treatment 25 .

Table 1.1: Some threshold values ​​predicting poor response of AMH



Author


Study

Size

sample

Value

threshold

Nardo et al., 2009

Research

165

1.0

Arce et al., 2013

Retrospective

749

1.68

Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan et al., 2013

Research

348

1.38

Vural et al., 2014

Research

689

0.62

Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan et al., 2016

Research

820

1.25

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1.1.2.2. FSH concentration at the beginning of the menstrual cycle


FSH is a glycoprotein secreted from the anterior pituitary gland, acting through the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. FSH is regulated by many factors including inhibin, activin, estradiol and follistatin 26 . When the ovarian reserve is normal, FSH is regulated by the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, so the concentration is within normal limits. When the ovaries decrease or deplete the number of reserve eggs, the concentration of estrogen produced from the ovaries decreases, so there is no negative feedback to the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, causing the pituitary gland to increase FSH secretion. FSH concentration is quantified on days 2-4 of the menstrual cycle and is a long-standing and popular test in the assessment of ovarian reserve. Most studies use the FSH threshold value > 10 IU/L (ranging from 10 - 20 IU/L) to predict decreased ovarian reserve. The sensitivity of FSH varies widely between studies, from 10–80%, in predicting poor ovarian response and decreases with increasing patient age.


to 27 . The cutoff values ​​used in most studies have high specificity (80-100%) but low sensitivity (10-30%) resulting in the majority of patients tested for FSH, including those with reduced ovarian reserve, will not have abnormal FSH values ​​13 . Although widely used, FSH has many disadvantages: FSH concentrations fluctuate between menstrual cycles and between different days of the menstrual cycle, so FSH quantification must be performed from day 2-4 of the menstrual cycle. In Broekmans's meta-analysis of 37 studies on the value of FSH in predicting poor ovarian response, it was noted that only very high FSH concentrations had relative accuracy in predicting poor ovarian response and non-pregnancy. Low FSH concentrations have no clinical value in predicting ovarian response and FSH has no value in predicting ovarian response.



Figure 1.2: FSH predicts poor response and no pregnancy 28 .

The ROC curve showed that FSH was predictive of poor response but not predictive of no pregnancy.


1.1.2.3. AFC (Antral Follicle Count)


AFC is the total number of follicles measuring 2–9 mm in both ovaries observed by transvaginal ultrasound at the beginning of the menstrual cycle. Most studies use secondary follicle size as 2–9 mm in diameter, while a few studies use 3–8 mm or 2–5 mm 29 . AFC reflects the number of secondary follicles capable of responding to FSH stimulation. AFC is noted to decrease with age 30 and is correlated with the number of primordial follicles in the ovary31 . Many studies have noted that AFC has a predictive value for response to ovarian stimulation, with thresholds ranging from 5 to 7 being predictive of poor response 32 . A recent study showed that an AFC threshold value below 5 has high sensitivity (91%) and high specificity (91%) in predicting poor response according to the criteria of less than 3 oocytes retrieved with maximum dose KTBT 33 . The AFC threshold that can be used to predict poor response in Vietnamese women is AFC < 5 23 . According to a review study by Gibreel et al. in 2009 of 17 previous studies on the use of AFC to assess ovarian reserve, the published results showed that when AFC was below 4, the risk of failure was 7-8 times higher than that of women with AFC of 4 or higher. This AFC threshold has a sensitivity of 66.7% and a specificity of 94.7%. AFC has a linear relationship with the number of retrieved oocytes and is valuable in assessing the response to IVF but has no predictive value for embryo quality, clinical pregnancy rate, or live birth rate 17 .

AFC counting depends on the skill of the sonographer, even when the same person performs the ultrasound, the results between two counts will vary. AFC values ​​vary between menstrual cycles and between days of the menstrual cycle 34 . This variation is mainly due to changes in the number of large secondary follicles (6 – 10 mm).


1.2. Factors affecting ovarian response

The ultimate goal of ovarian stimulation is to obtain as many good quality eggs as possible. However, this depends on a number of factors:

1.2.1. Age


Women are born with a fixed number of primary follicles. The number of follicles does not increase, but only decreases over time. The older they get, the more they decrease. Population statistics show that a woman's fertility declines significantly after the age of 35 and very few women give birth after the age of 40, although menstruation only really stops around the age of 45 - 50 35 .

In a developed society, the age of marriage and having children tends to increase, women over 30 years old have an increasing need to have children and infertility treatment 36 . Age is a factor that determines natural fertility and assisted reproductive cycles, because age is one of the factors that predict ovarian reserve. However, age is not considered a cause of infertility because age reflects physiological status rather than pathological status 36 .

Advanced age reduces ovarian response to gonadotropins, reduces the number of eggs, egg quality, fertilization rate and embryo quality. The live birth rate after in vitro fertilization is 17% in women aged 30, decreasing to 7% in women aged 40 and 2% in women aged 45 37 . The age of the woman also affects the live birth rate because the older the age, the higher the miscarriage rate. The risk of miscarriage increases from 10% in women under 30, 18% in women in their late 30s and 34% in women aged 40 37 .


Year old

Number of primordial follicles

Figure 1.1. Decrease in the number of oocytes from birth to menopause 38


1.2.2. Body mass index

BMI is one of the important factors to evaluate ovarian response during ovarian stimulation, calculated by the formula: BMI = Weight (kg)/height x height (m 2 ). Many studies have shown that increased BMI requires increased FSH dose, increased number of days of ovarian stimulation, fewer eggs are obtained and is a valuable parameter to predict the number of follicles ≥ 14 mm on the day of hCG injection 39 .

1.2.3. History of pelvic surgery


Interventions in the pelvic area can cause pelvic adhesions, especially ovarian surgery that causes loss of healthy ovarian tissue, thereby reducing ovarian reserve, causing poor ovarian response and low egg retrieval . 40. History of pelvic surgery, especially ovarian surgery, is a factor that affects the results of ovarian stimulation.


1.2.4. Tests on ovarian reserve


● FSH concentration at the beginning of the menstrual cycle : is a useful and important prognostic factor. Because FSH concentration increases with age, if the FSH concentration is above 12 IU/l but especially above 20 IU/l, the response to in vitro fertilization is poor. According to research by Pearlstore et al., if the FSH concentration is above 25 IU/l or the woman is over 44 years old, the chance of pregnancy is almost zero when stimulating the ovaries or assisted reproduction 41 .

FSH concentration below 10 mIU/l is normal, from 10-15 mIU/l is the limit value, also known as the gray zone. When FSH concentration is above 15 mIU/l, it is abnormal and reduces ovarian reserve 41 .

According to studies by Scott (2001), Marcus and Brinsden (2004), Ron-EL (2000), age and FSH levels are two factors commonly used to predict ovarian response. Older patients and high FSH levels are at risk of poor response to ovarian stimulation 42–44 . However, recent studies by Nahum (2001), Ng EHY (2000), Hsieh (2001) showed that the number of antral follicles has a better predictive value for poor ovarian response than age and FSH levels, and the number of antral follicles is related to the number of retrieved oocytes 45–47 .

● Estradiol (E 2 ) concentration at the beginning of the menstrual cycle : increased E 2 concentrationat the beginning of the menstrual cycle can predict poor ovarian response despite normal FSH concentration. Most of E 2 is produced by the granulosa cells of the ovary, in addition, there is also E 2 metabolismfrom testosterone. E 2 is also produced in small amounts from the adrenal cortex, brain... 48 .


When entering the age of 40-45, the follicular phase of women is shortened to about 10.4 days compared to 16.9 days of women aged 18-20 49 . Surveys show that more follicles are recruited in the period near menopause. It is the increase in the concentration of E 2 secreted into the blood that contributes to the shortening of the follicular phase 50 .

To assess ovarian reserve, E 2 concentration test is performed on the first days of the menstrual cycle at the same time as FSH concentration test. Ovarian reserve is considered to be reduced when: FSH > 12-15 mIU/ml; E 2 > 75-80 pg/ml 51 .

● Antral follicle count (AFC): assessed by transvaginal ultrasound in the early follicular phase Patients with less than 4 antral follicles were associated with poor ovarian response and had a higher rate of cycle cancellation than patients with more than 4 antral follicles (41% vs. 6.4%), and a lower pregnancy rate (24% vs. 58%) in in vitro fertilization 52 .

Figure 1.2. AFC values ​​by age at the 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 97th percentiles 30 .


According to Muttukishna et al. in the UK (2005), the number of secondary follicles on day 3 of the cycle was significantly correlated with the number of oocytes retrieved and the clinical pregnancy rate. However, the number of secondary follicles did not predict the number of oocytes retrieved, while the ability to conceive depends on both the number of oocytes and the quality of the oocytes 53 .

● Inhibin B concentration: inhibin B is produced by granulosa cells during the development of ovarian follicles and is a more direct test than other tests of ovarian function 54 . According to Fried (2003), low inhibin B concentration on day 3 of the cycle predicts poor ovarian response before the increase in FSH concentration on day 3 of the cycle. A study on 292 patients undergoing in vitro fertilization with normal FSH concentration on day 3 of the cycle showed that inhibin B concentration is related to ovarian response including the number of follicles, number of oocytes, and number of embryos. However, inhibin B concentration is not related to pregnancy rate 54 . One possible reason is that inhibin B concentration only reflects granulosa cell function and therefore only predicts ovarian response. Inhibin B concentration < 40 mg/ml predicts poor ovarian response with a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 49% 54,55 .

● Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) concentration:


AMH is a glycoprotein secreted by the granulosa cells of the ovarian follicles. AMH levels indicate the number of follicles present in the ovary, also known as the ovarian reserve. The better the ovarian reserve, the higher the ovarian ability to produce eggs and vice versa 56 .

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