An Instituto Bernabeu study allows predicting the response to ovarian stimulation when there is discordance between two ovarian biomarkers

Luis Arias, embryologist at Instituto Bernabeu, will be giving an oral presentation at the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF in Spanish) congress entitled “Results of ovarian stimulation in patients with discordant Antimüllerian Hormone and Antral Follicle Count values”. In this presentation, he will explain the findings of a study conducted at the clinic itself that analyses the ovarian response in patients with discordant values of these two important biomarkers of ovarian reserve.

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and antral follicle count (AFC) are considered to be the most reliable markers for predicting ovarian response in controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) treatments. However, in some cases, the values of these two biomarkers do not coincide, making it difficult to diagnose and choose the most appropriate treatment.

The Instituto Bernabeu study, which has analysed a total of 4,318 patients, 1,820 of whom completed a COS treatment between 2017 and 2022, aims to detect the frequency of discordant cases between AMH and AFC in patients undergoing COS, as well as to study the results of these treatments in patients with discordant values. This will help to determine the most reliable predictor in case of discordance between AMH and AFC.

The study’s results, which are considered novel in the field of fertility research, have led to the conclusion that discordance between AMH and AFC is not uncommon and that when AMH is lower than expected by AFC, AFC is a better predictor of COS response. Furthermore, in cases where AMH is higher than expected by AFC, the hormone is a better predictor.

Arias stressed that these findings have important implications for patients, as “they allow us to predict more accurately the response to COS in cases of discordance between AMH and AFC and to define more effectively the stimulation protocol to be followed in each case”.