Infertility, Female
Conditions
Keywords
Thin Endometrium, Asherman's Syndrome, Endometrial Scarring
Brief summary
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of G-CSF on endometrial thickness in women who have failed reaching minimal endometrial thickness by standard treatments, to assess how many reach embryo transfer and what implantation and pregnancy rates are in comparison to control patients. The study will be conducted in women undergoing transfer of previously cryopreserved embryos or undergoing transfer of embryos from donor eggs.
Detailed description
Objective: To investigate the effect of treatment with CSF : A placebo controlled double blinded crossover study. Design: Crossover Randomized Control Trial Setting: Academically affiliated private infertility centers Subjects: Female IVF patients of all ages who are willing to be randomized to treatment and, in either IVF treatment, frozen embryo cycles (FET) or donor IVF cycles (D-IVF), 5 days before ET, have inadequate endometrial thickness. Interventions: Subjects receive transvaginally, utilizing an insemination catheter, 2 slow intrauterine lavages with CSF-1 (Neupogen or generic, 300ug in 1 ml) 5 and 3 days, respectively, before embryo transfer and controls receive 1 ml of saline instead. Patients who do not become pregnant will after one month washout times continue treatment in the opposite study arm if they so choose and if they have remaining embryos. Main Outcome Measures: Number of patients reaching embryo transfer with adequate endometrial thickness of at least 7mm. Second Outcome Measures: Implantation and pregnancy rates.. Statistical and Power considerations: This is a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) with two study arms and panned crossover. Patients will be randomly assigned to Study group A or B according to a computer generated randomization table with 50:50 distributions. The study will test the null hypothesis that there is no difference in the transfer rates between the two groups. Transfer is only possible if the endometrial thickness reaches 7 mm or more. Order of treatment ab v ba will be added to the models as a separate factor and each phase will be analyzed as separate treatment strata. The investigators are planning a study of independent cases and controls with 1 control per case. Prior data indicate that the transfer rate among controls is \< 1%. If the true transfer rate for experimental subjects is 25%, the investigators will need to study 38 experimental subjects and 38 control subjects to be able to reject the null hypothesis that the transfer rates for experimental and control subjects are equal with probability (power) 0.8. The Type I error probability associated with this test of this null hypothesis is 0.05. We will use a continuity-corrected chi-squared statistic or Fisher's exact test to evaluate this null hypothesis. There will be a planned interim analysis after 20 participants have completed the trial and if significant effects are observed the trial may be terminated at that time. The power to detect a difference in this interim analysis is only 42.6%.
Interventions
One infusion of G-CSF 300 units administered by intrauterine infusion
One intrauterine saline infusions of 1 cc
Sponsors
Study design
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
* Patient's preparing for invitro fertilization and embryo transfer with endometrial growth of less than 7 mm, unresponsive to standard treatment
Exclusion criteria
* Sickle Cell disease * Renal insufficiency * Upper respiratory infection or Pneumonia * Chronic Neutropenia * Known Past or present malignancy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Endometrial Thickness | Day of embryo transfer | Thickness of the endometrium on the day of embryo transfer |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Implantation Rate | 28 days after embryo transfer | Number of gestational sacs per number of embryos transferred in each treatment group |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Recruitment details
All patients presenting for embryos transfer between October 3, 2010, and January 1, 2013, were offered participation in the trial. A total of 419 eligible patients were offered participation: Only 12 patients consented to participate in this study,(129 addtional patient participated in the NCT01202656 study) and 278 declined.
Pre-assignment details
The principal reasons for refusal to participate were ''lack of interest'' and technical difficulties in presenting in timely fashion for the treatment to the center. Women with renal disease, sickle cell disease, or a history of malignancy were considered ineligible. No consenting patient was excluded from participation for medical reasons.
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| G-CSF Then Saline G-CSF 300 units administered by trans-cervical infusion one time on day of hCG trigger for Ovulation then Saline administered by trans-cervical infusion one time on day of hCG trigger for ovulation | 6 |
| Saline Then G-CSF Saline administered by trans-cervical infusion one time on day of hCG trigger for ovulation then G-CSF 300 units administered by trans-cervical infusion one time on day of hCG trigger for Ovulation | 6 |
| Total | 12 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | G-CSF Then Saline | Saline Then G-CSF | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 6 Participants | 6 Participants | 12 Participants |
| Age, Continuous | 39.79 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.13 | 39.38 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.03 | 39.59 Years STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.56 |
| Endometrial Thickness | 5.6 mm STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.22 | 6.2 mm STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.69 | 5.8 mm STANDARD_DEVIATION 0.46 |
| FSH | 8.64 mIU/mL STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.92 | 8.27 mIU/mL STANDARD_DEVIATION 4.01 | 8.46 mIU/mL STANDARD_DEVIATION 3.95 |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 1 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 5 Participants | 6 Participants | 11 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 6 Participants | 6 Participants | 12 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | — / — | — / — |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 8 | 0 / 7 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 8 | 0 / 7 |
Outcome results
Endometrial Thickness
Thickness of the endometrium on the day of embryo transfer
Time frame: Day of embryo transfer
| Arm | Measure | Value (MEAN) | Dispersion |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-CSF | Endometrial Thickness | 11.3 mm | Standard Deviation 3.1 |
| Saline | Endometrial Thickness | 7.8 mm | Standard Deviation 0.8 |
Implantation Rate
Number of gestational sacs per number of embryos transferred in each treatment group
Time frame: 28 days after embryo transfer
Population: Presuming an implantation rate of 10% and anticipating a 10% increase to 20% with treatment, about 200 embryos transferred in each study arm would be needed for 80% power and alpha of 0.05.
| Arm | Measure | Value (NUMBER) |
|---|---|---|
| G-CSF | Implantation Rate | 1 Gestational sacs |
| Saline | Implantation Rate | 2 Gestational sacs |