Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on November 19, 2007
Human Reproduction 2008 23(1):1-3; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem378
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/1/1    most recent
dem378v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (5)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ankum, W. M.
Right arrow Articles by Offringa, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ankum, W. M.
Right arrow Articles by Offringa, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

OPINION

IVF with preimplantation genetic screening, a promising new treatment with unexpectedly negative health outcomes: the Hippocratic role of Data Monitoring Committees

Willem M. Ankum1,4, Johannes B. Reitsma2 and Martin Offringa3

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2 Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands 3 Department of Paediatric Clinical Epidemiology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands

4 Correspondence address. E-mail: w.m.ankum{at}amc.uva.nl

A recently published randomized controlled trial showed preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) as part of an IVF programme to reduce ongoing pregnancy rates by 1/3 in comparison to the control group without PGS: rate ratio (RR) 0.69 (0.51–0.93), P = 0.01. A masked interim analysis already showed significant differences between treatment arms: RR 0.58 (0.35–0.94), P = 0.02. Despite this finding, the trial's Data Monitoring Committee decided not to stop, but to continue the trial. This paper argues why this decision was sound, since it was based on (i) explicit statistical criteria and (ii) the trade-off between risks and benefits for current and future IVF patients. The trial's findings confront the medical community once again with the general problem of new technologies being implemented without randomized evidence of effectiveness.

Key words: IVF/preimplantation genetic screening/masked interim analysis/Data Monitoring Committee/randomized controlled trial


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
K. Yakin and B. Urman
What next for preimplantation genetic screening? A clinician's perspective
Hum. Reprod., August 1, 2008; 23(8): 1686 - 1690.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
A. Zosmer, M. Epstein, and T. Al-Shawaf
Ethical recruitment of patients for PGS trial
Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2008; 23(6): 1472 - 1472.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
W. M. Ankum, J. B. Reitsma, and M. Offringa
Reply: Ethical recruitment of patients for PGS trial
Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2008; 23(6): 1472 - 1473.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.