Influence of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) Ser680Asn polymorphism on ovarian function and in-vitro fertilization outcome: A meta-analysis

Background: A common follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor (or FSHR) polymorphism Ser680Asn (rs6166) was found to be associated with altered ovarian response in women undergoing in-vitro fertilization. To further investigate such an association, a meta-analysis was conducted. Methods: A PubMed literature search was conducted to identify all cohort studies investigating such a relationship. The following parameters-basal FSH levels, total FSH doses, oocytes retrieved, and pregnancy rates-were used to evaluate the ovarian function, its response to exogenous FSH and in-vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome. Results: A total of 1421 cases were collected from eight studies. Of them, a significantly lower basal FSH level was observed in patients harboring Asn/Asn (NN) genotype than those carrying the Ser/Ser (SS) genotype both in Asian (WMD: -2.57 mIU/ml, 95% CI: -2.96 to -2.19, P<0.0001) and Caucasian retrospective groups (WMD: -1.86 mIU/ml, 95%CI: -2.07 to -1.66, P<0.0001) with no heterogeneity. Moreover, carriers of the SS tended to require greater FSH doses than NN (WMD: -268.82 IU, 95% CI: -561.28 to 23.63, P = 0.07). Other parameters, such as oocytes retrieved and pregnancy rate, were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion: Carriers of the SS variant have slightly higher basal FSH levels, tending to require higher doses of exogenous FSH for stimulation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.