Should corifollitropin alfa be offered to patients with “genuine” poor response to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation?

Abstract

Objective: To examine whether poor ovarian response (POR) patients during conventional IVF/ intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycle, may benefit from multiple-dose GnRH-antagonist protocol with 150 mg of corifollitropin alfa via a cohort historical study. at a Tertiary, University affiliated Medical Center. Materials and Methods: Eighteen POR patients, defined according to the Bologna criteria, who underwent a subsequent 150 mg corifollitropin alfa cycle, within three months of the previous failed conventional IVF/ICSI cycle were included. The elimination of bias in this selection, for the purposes of this study, was achieved by including only a subgroup of “genuine” poor responder patients, those who yielded up to three oocytes following COH with a minimal gonadotropin daily dose of 300 IU. One hundred fifty mg corifollitropin alfa, administered on day 2-3 of the menstrual cycle, followed highly purified human menotropin (HP-hMG) or rFSH + rLH from stimulation day 5-6, within a flexible multiple-dose GnRH-antagonist COH cycle. Pregnancy rate, number of oocytes retrieved, number of embryos transferred, and COH variables were assessed. Results: The corifollitropin alfa COH protocol provided a non-significant one more oocyte, with no pregnancies. Considering the equivalence of 150 mg corifollitropin alfa to 2,100 IU of FSH, offering corifollitropin has no cost-effective advantages. Discussion: The corifollitropin alfa COH is of no benefit for “genuine” POR and alternative strategies, such as increasing the daily FSH dose or proceeding to egg-donation, should be seriously considered for this population.