Testosterone Gel in Poor Responders Undergoing IVF

Effectiveness of Testosterone Gel Pretreatment in Poor Responders Undergoing IVF Treatment: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The main purpose of this study is to compare the number of oocytes retrieved after using transdermal testosterone gel 10 mg per day or Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) 75mg per day for 6-8 weeks as pre-treatment for poor ovarian responders undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Infertility
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Testosterone gel; Drug: DHEA

Detailed Description

A randomized controlled multiple centers study. The study is designed as a superiority trial. The sample size for this trial of 120 subjects in both groups, based upon the primary endpoint of the number of oocytes retrieved.

IVF patients who have failed to conceive and had poor ovarian response (oocytes retrieved ≤ 3) in the last stimulated cycle though using the maximal dose, which is ≥ 300 IU Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG).

Patients will be randomized to use DHEA or testosterone gel as pretreatment. Randomization will be performed using sealed envelopes developed via a computer generated list with blocks of four. Doctors will be blinded to the randomization, but not patients and nurses.

• Study group 1 use 10 mg transdermal testosterone gel per day.
• Study group 2 use 75mg DHEA per day.

Serum testosterone are measured before treatment. Duration of androgen supplement is 6-8 weeks. After completing the pretreatment, patients are asked to come back when they have menses to begin IVF treatment. Serum testosterone is measured again after the pretreatment in both groups. Patients will be interviewed for side effects and compliance of treatment.

After treatment, patients in both group undergo IVF treatment. IVF treatment will then be performed for all patients, according to the current hospital treatment protocols.

Patients will be followed up until 7th week of gestation, if they have positive pregnancy test after embryo transfer.

Data Analysis and Statistics:

The investigators use Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software 20th version to analyze data. The primary end-point mean of number of retrieved oocytes will be compared between two groups using the Student's t test. The secondary end-points will also be compared between the 2 groups using either the Student's t test or chi-square test.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Vietnam
  • Ward 13. Tan Binh District
    • Ho Chi Minh City, Ward 13. Tan Binh District, Vietnam, 70000
      • My Duc Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 42 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

To be eligible for enrolment into this trial, each female subject must fulfill all of the following criteria at the start of enrolment, unless specified otherwise:

• Had one or two previous failure IVF cycle, using GnRH antagonist protocol (≥ 300 IU FSH/hMG per day) and the number of retrieved oocytes are ≤ 3;
• Antral follicle counts (AFC) < 6 or Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) < 1.26 ng/ml

Exclusion Criteria:

To be eligible for enrolment in this study each subject must not meet any of the following criteria:

• Oocyte donation cycle
• Patients have thyroid disease
• Patients have liver or kidney dysfunction
• Patients have abnormal puberty or genital development.
• Patients have previous surgery on ovaries

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Testosterone gel; Testosterone gel 10mg, used transdermally, once a day. Treatment duration: 6-8 weeks	Drug: Testosterone gel; Apply 10mg testosterone gel to the abdomen and rub on with one finger, once a day, in the morning, then allow sites to dry and cover with clothing. Continue the treatment for 6-8 weeks until next IVF treatment.; Other Names: Androgel
Active Comparator: DHEA; DHEA 25mg tablet, orally, three times per day. Treatment duration: 6-8 weeks	Drug: DHEA; Take DHEA 25mg tablet orally, three times per day. Continue the treatment for 6-8 weeks, until next IVF treatment.; Other Names: DHEA tablet

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of oocytes	Number of oocytes retrieved Number of oocytes retrieved	30 minutes after oocyte retrieval completed

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Clinical pregnancy	Clinical pregnancy is defined by the image gestational sac under ultrasonography	7 weeks after embryo transfer

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Vietnam National University
• Collaborators: Mỹ Đức Hospital
• Investigators: Study Director: Linh P Tran, MD, Research Center for Genetics and Reproductive Health

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: September 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Anticipated): May 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Anticipated): August 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 13, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 14, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): September 15, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 18, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 17, 2017
• Last Verified: April 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: IVF, Testosterone gel, DHEA, poor responder.
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Infertility; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Hormones; Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists; Androgens; Testosterone
• Other Study ID Numbers: NCKH/CGRH_ 06_2015