Evaluation of embryo aneuploidy (PGT-A) and endometrial receptivity (ERA) testing in patients with recurrent implantation failure in ICSI cycles

Objective The objective of a study was to assess the ability of the pre-implantation genetic testing of embryos for aneuploidy (PGT-A) and Endometrial receptivity array (ERA)-alone or in combination to improve the clinical outcomes in intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles in patients with repeated implantation failure (RIF). Methods This was a retrospective study of the 253 cycles with a history of the previous RIF. They were divided into four groups: Group I - frozen embryo transfers without any additional tests or procedures (pure FET), n = 72 cycles; Group II - FET with PGT-A, n = 87; Group III - FET with PGT-A and ERA, n = 72; Group IV - FET with ERA, n = 22. Results Median age of the entire study group for the females was 35 years. Only Group II (FET + PGT-A) showed statistically significant higher chance in achieving both biochemical (p = .01, OR = 5.5) and clinical pregnancy (p =.049, OR = 2.3), as compared to the Group I (FET with no additional tests). Both Group III and Group IV failed to demonstrate better clinical outcomes as compared to the Group I. Conclusions Patients with RIF can benefit from testing for embryo aneuploidy using the PGT-A method, but the ability of the ERA test to improve the clinical outcome in ICSI cycles seems to be rather limited. Although the endometrium cycle is also weakened with age, the contribution of the embryo genetic quality is evidently more important for successful implantation, although in principle both factors reflect the reproductive health.

Automated summary

The study found that testing for embryo aneuploidy using the PGT-A method can improve clinical outcomes in ICSI cycles for patients with RIF, while the ability of the ERA test to improve clinical outcomes seems to be rather limited.