Assisted reproductive technology (ART) cumulative live birth rates following preimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy (PGD-A) or morphological assessment of embryos: A cohort analysis

BackgroundPreimplantation genetic diagnosis for aneuploidy (PGD-A) for all 24 chromosomes improves implantation and clinical pregnancy rates per single assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle. However, there is limited data on the live-birth rate of PGD-A over repeated cycles. AimTo assess the cumulative live-birth rates (CLBR) of PGD-A compared with morphological assessment of embryos of up to three complete ART cycles' (fresh plus frozen/thaw cycles) in women aged 37years or older. Materials and MethodsA retrospective cohort study of ART treatments undertaken by ART-naive women at a large Australian fertility clinic between 2011 and 2014. Cohorts were assigned based on the embryo selection method used in their first fresh cycle [PGD-A, n=110 women (PGD-A group); morphological assessment of embryos, n=1983 women (control group)]. CLBR, time to clinical pregnancy and cycles needed to achieve a live birth were measured over multiple cycles. ResultsCompared to the control group, the PGD-A group achieved a higher per cycle live-birth rate (14.47% vs 9.12%, P<0.01), took a shorter mean time to reach a clinical pregnancy leading to a live-birth (104.8days vs 140.6days, P<0.05) and required fewer cycles to achieve a live-birth (6.91 cycles vs 10.96 cycles, P<0.01). However, after three complete ART cycles', the CLBR was comparable for the two groups (30.90% vs 26.77%, P=0.34). ConclusionThis is the first study to assess the effectiveness of PGD-A over multiple ART cycles. These real-world findings suggest that PGD-A leads to better outcomes than using morphological assessment alone in women of advanced maternal age.