A simple oral swab test before IVF likely to boost success rate
Swedish researchers have developed a simple oral swab test, which can help boost the success rate of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure
Published on May 13, 2025
By IANS
- NEW DELHI — Swedish researchers have developed a simple oral swab test, which
can help boost the success rate of the in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure.
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- IVF treatment involves stimulating the woman’s ovaries to
mature many eggs, which are then retrieved and fertilised with sperm in the
laboratory before being returned to the uterus.
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- There are two different types of hormone treatments to
choose from for egg maturation: biological or synthetic. Besides the risk of
serious side effects, the therapies sometimes require women to go into
intensive care -- and many attempts at IVF fail. Selecting which therapy is
best for the woman has become a major challenge.
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- While mapping genes is costly and takes time, the new
simple oral swab test within an hour shows which hormone therapy is most
suitable.
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- “Our hope is that this will reduce the risk of suffering
for women, increase the number of successful treatments, and cut costs for
taxpayers. Our goal is for the test to be available by the start of 2026,” said
Yvonne Lundberg Giwercman, professor at Lund University.
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- A total of 1,466 women undergoing IVF treatment in Sweden
were included in the study, and 475 were randomised to two different hormone
treatments while the rest were controls.
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- Using gene sequencing, the team mapped the action of the
gene follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), which is known to play an important
role in egg maturation.
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- The study identified that women with a particular variant
of the FSH receptor (FSHR) gene that mediates the action of the hormone
responded best to the biological hormone treatment, while others benefited from
receiving the synthetic type of hormone.
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- To decode the genetic profile, the team turned to the
oral swab test, which proved to be significantly efficient. Within an hour, it
produced results that can be seen with the naked eye as a pink or yellow
colour.
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- By knowing the woman’s genetic profile in advance, we can
increase the number of successful pregnancies, said Giwercman, in the study
published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology.
