Adenomyosis and Pregnancy Outcomes in Women Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology Treatment

Rationale: A rising number of adenomyosis cases are being diagnosed in women in the age group of 30 to 40 years. This is due to a combination of better diagnostic imaging techniques and a higher number of women delaying the fulfilment of their fertility aspirations. The association between adenomyosis and pregnancy outcomes in women with subfertility has not been adequately explained by existing evidence due to lack of data on the association between the severity of adenomyosis, disease location, presence of symptoms and coexisting gynaecological conditions and pregnancy loss in women undergoing fertility treatment. There is a need to improve our understanding of prognostic features which would be beneficial in counselling women with adenomyosis undergoing fertility treatment and inform future management options. The investigators propose a research body of work aimed at improving our understanding of adenomyosis and its association with pregnancy loss. Objective: The aim of the study is to determine the association between adenomyosis and pregnancy loss in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. Study design: Prospective multicentre cohort study. The cohort will comprise of women with adenomyosis undergoing ART treatment and the control group will include women with normal uterus on baseline ultrasound scan undergoing ART treatment during the study duration. Settings: The study will be conducted at all main CARE fertility units, one of the largest providers of fertility treatment in the United Kingdom. Participant population with exposure and sample size: The cohort group will comprise of women diagnosed with adenomyosis on pre-treatment baseline ultrasound scan before ART treatment who satisfy the eligibility criteria and consent to participate in the study. The total sample size for this study will be 750 participants with 375 women in each arm. Recruitment will take place over the course of 18 months. Diagnostic tool for detection of exposure: The diagnosis of adenomyosis will be made using transvaginal ultrasound scan (TVS) (2D and 3D Ultrasound and applying Morphological Uterus Sonographic Assessment (MUSA) criteria. Schematic mapping system of adenomyosis severity proposed by Lazzeri and colleagues will be used to grade the severity of adenomyosis. Eligibility: Inclusion criteria: All women aged >18 years and ≤42 years undergoing IVF/ICSI cycle. Exclusion criteria: Women with coexisting fibroid uterus, endometrioma confirmed on USS or known laparoscopic diagnosis of endometriosis (with histological confirmation), untreated hydrosalpinx, uterine malformation, previous myomectomy, previous surgery for adenomyosis or inconclusive USS. Recruitment: All women undergoing pre-treatment pelvic ultrasound scans before ART treatment will be screened for adenomyosis at the participating centres. Women who meet the eligibility criteria will be provided with an information leaflet about the study. They will be enrolled in the study after informed consent is obtained. The severity of adenomyosis will be subsequently evaluated using stored 2D and 3D ultrasound scan (USS) images. Several demographic, clinical and treatment characteristics will be recorded for each participant. Control: To ensure adequate comparability of the cohort, women with normal uterus on baseline ultrasound scan during the study duration will be used as control and will be matched for the following variables: age, embryo quality, type of ART cycle (donor or self and IVF or ICSI) and number of embryos transferred. The eligibility criteria will be applicable to the controls as well. Outcome measures: Primary outcome: Pregnancy loss up to 24 weeks out of all pregnancies achieved. The pregnancy loss will include biochemical pregnancy loss, miscarriage, pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) and ectopic pregnancy. This will be reported per embryo transfer and per woman. Secondary outcomes:1. Implantation rate per embryo transfer (number of gestational sacs divided by number of embryos transferred) and per woman; 2. Biochemical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer (positive pregnancy test following embryo transfer) and per woman; 3. Clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer (presence of at least one intrauterine gestational sac on ultrasound) and per woman; 4. Ongoing pregnancy rate per woman (defined as a live pregnancy at 12 weeks onwards); 5. Live birth rate after 34 weeks per woman. Subgroup analysis: We will carry out subgroup analysis according to specific patient characteristics. These analyses will include, but not necessarily be limited to women with the following characteristics:1. Varying severity of adenomyosis; 2. Presence /absence of symptoms of adenomyosis; 3. Frozen vs. Fresh embryo transfer; 4. Short vs. long vs. ultralong ovarian stimulation protocol; 5. Recurrent miscarriages; 6. Other associations that may become apparent in post-hoc analyses.