Clinical outcomes of luteal phase support in the context of in-vitro fertilization: are all options equal?

Abstract

A number of compounds in different dosage schemes and different routes of administration are available for luteal phase support in the context of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. All available compounds are only licensed for use in the context of a “fresh” IVF cycle and all licensing studies had a non-inferiority study design compared to the standard of care, vaginal micronized progesterone. Recent data from non-inferiority phase III trials indicate that the vaginal route of administration of progesterone is suboptimal. This appears to be the case in fresh IVF cycles and potentially even more so in “artificial” frozen-thawed embryo replacement cycles. This implies that a new standard of care for luteal phase support needs to be defined.