Estradiol production during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation correlates with treatment outcome in women undergoing in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer.

To study the value of E(2) production during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) in predicting IVF-ET outcome. Historical cohort. Academic infertility center. A cohort of 270 patients who completed 324 consecutive IVF-ET treatment cycles. None. Area under the curve for E(2) levels (AUC-E(2)) from the first day of COH until the day of hCG administration was calculated and cycles grouped into low, average, and high AUC-E(2) groups. Clinical pregnancy rates per cycle were compared among the three groups, and correlations with AUC-E(2) values were calculated for all patients and after sub-grouping according to age, COH protocol and infertility diagnosis. Cycles with low and high AUC-E(2) values had significantly lower pregnancy rates particularly in patients 35 years or older. There was a positive correlation between AUC-E(2) and pregnancy rates up to a certain AUC-E(2) level above which a negative correlation was found. The turning point between positive and negative correlations occurred at a significantly lower AUC-E(2) level in patients 35 years or older. Estradiol production during COH correlates with IVF-ET outcome. Women >35 years of age seem more vulnerable to high E(2) levels.