October 22
,
2012
by: ASRM Office of Public Affairs
Published in ASRM Press Release
Note: All information is embargoed until the time of presentation at the meeting, unless otherwise indicated.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 68th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR REPRODUCTIVE MEDICINE
Embargoed for Release: Monday, October 22, 2012 – 12:01 AM Pacific Daylight TimeASRM Practice Committee Releases New Report on Ovarian Reserve Testing
Report expresses concern with “lack of validated results” for most proposed testing methods.
San Diego, CA – The Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine today issued a Committee Opinion entitled “Testing and interpreting measures of ovarian reserve.”
The report begins by stating that there is not yet a uniformly accepted definition of decreased ovarian reserve (DOR) and then goes on to review the data on a variety of proposed methodologies for measuring it. The opinion concludes that a screening test alone cannot yet diagnose decreased ovarian reserve, and that available home tests “have serious limitations and pitfalls.” Of the available tests, the Committee finds that antral follicle count (AFC) and antimullerian hormone (AMH) are promising predictors.
The report begins by exploring the concept of ovarian reserve, which it states “views reproductive potential as a function of the number and quality of remaining oocytes.” Decreased ovarian reserve describes women of reproductive age having regular periods but whose reproductive capacity and response to ovarian stimulation drugs is reduced or impaired compared to women of similar age. However, many of the commonly used tests for DOR measure three distinct components; oocyte quality, ooctye quantity, and fecundity, with no consensus yet on which component is the most useful.
The Practice Committee then explores the available data for a number of potential tests for DOR. However, it concluded that “[t]here is fair evidence against the recommendation that any ovarian reserve test should be used as a sole criteria for the use of ART.” Further, “[t]here is insufficient evidence to indicate that the combined results of multiple screening tests are more useful than that of each test alone.”
The opinion does state that both the anti mullerian hormone tests and the antral follicle count have potential to emerge as important diagnostic measures.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, founded in 1944, is an organization of more than 7,000 physicians, researchers, nurses, technicians and other professionals dedicated to advancing knowledge and expertise in reproductive biology. Affiliated societies include the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, the Society for Male Reproduction and Urology, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, the Society of Reproductive Surgeons and the Society of Reproductive Biologists and Technologists.
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