New IVF Research Shows Single Embryo Transfer with Comprehensive Chromosome Screening Results in Equivalent Delivery Rates, Healthier Babies and Lower Costs

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey, (RMANJ), a world-renowned leader in the field of infertility, released new clinical research today examining the downstream clinical and financial benefits of Comprehensive Chromosome Screening (CCS) when coupled with Single Embryo Transfer (SET) at the 69th Annual American Society for Reproductive Medicine Meeting in Boston, MA.

This new data titled, "Reducing the Burden of ART Care: Single Blastocyst Transfer After Comprehensive Chromosome Screening provides equivalent Delivery Rates, Eliminates Twins and Lowers Global Heath Care Costs" is a follow-up of 175 patients who participated in RMANJ's BEST (Blastocyst Euploid Selective Transfer) clinical trial. The BEST trial was the first well-controlled clinical trial to compare in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancy rates in a group of women receiving a SET with CCS to a group receiving traditional morphology-based double embryo transfers (DET).

This interim analysis (n=25) shows that the financial costs associated with DET resulting in multiples is actually higher when considering the downstream costs associated with multiple gestations including: delivery, NICU and complications associated with low birth weight. 

"Historically, the transfer of two or more genetically unscreened embryos has been the standard of care. After years of infertility, patients understandably want to maximize their chance of success and often want two or more embryos transferred. But, when they are counseled about the potential complications of a twin pregnancy, most actually want a singleton pregnancy. By combining CCS and SET we can reduce those kinds of obstetrical complications and excessive financial costs without compromising the chance for a successful outcome after IVF," said Dr. Eric J. Forman, lead investigator of the BEST Trial and follow-up research.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (www.ASRM.org) the incidence of twins resulting from assisted reproductive technologies is more than 20 times greater than that of naturally conceived twins.  Additionally, research has shown that carrying multiples increases the health risks to the mother and children including higher pre-term delivery rates and increased risk for low birth weight.¹

RMANJ's research shows that SET coupled with CCS, a process called SelectCCS , is the optimal path to one healthy baby at a time in IVF.

"Across the ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) industry there is a need for implementation of advocacy, counseling, and education to reduce the current dissonance between emotional decision-making and optimal health choices among patients," Richard T. Scott, Jr., M.D., F.A.C.O.G., H.C.L.D., a founding partner of RMANJ.  "We know that this is a very personal and individual choice for every patient, but our goal, as physicians, should always be to find the safest solution to help our patients deliver a single healthy child – and research has shown that that is best accomplished through the combination of SET and CCS."

Clinical Data
The interim results, based on a preliminary review of 25 patients from the 175 who participated in the BEST Trial, demonstrated that trophectoderm biopsy with CCS followed by euploid SET provides equivalent delivery rates to traditionally selected DET up through age 42 while reducing twins to 0% from 48%.

This follow-up analysis assessed the economic impact of such an approach weighing increased infertility care costs against reduced obstetrical and pediatric expenditures. The data suggested that the overall cost of delivery for trophectoderm biopsy with CCS followed by euploid SET was 27% less than DET.  The data is as follows:

The abstract will be published in the October 2013 issue of Fertility & Sterility, the scientific journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.  

About Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey
Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey have pioneered and successfully implemented a cutting-edge technology, known as Comprehensive Chromosome Screening (CCS) to more accurately detect healthy embryos that will lead to successful pregnancies and ultimately healthy babies. Other centers have attempted similar testing methods, but RMANJ is the only fertility center in the world to have developed a system of unprecedented accuracy, fully validated through years of rigorous clinical research. RMANJ's Comprehensive Chromosome Screening offers advanced embryo selection with extreme accuracy by detecting and avoiding use of embryos with chromosomal abnormalities prior to transfer and pregnancy.

The fertility experts at RMANJ have among the highest IVF success rates in the country. Since 1999, they have helped bring more than 30,000 babies to loving families.  In addition to serving as the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at Robert Wood Johnson University Medical School in New Brunswick, NJ, the practice has seven locations in New Jersey. For more information please call RMANJ at 973-656-2089, or visit http://www.rmanj.com.

¹ Multiple gestation associated with infertility therapy: an American Society for Reproductive Medicine Practice Committee opinion; Fertil Steril 2010; 97(4); 824-834

SOURCE Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey