[Does the serum AMH assay allow predicting reliably female fertility?]

Abstract

In women, the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is secreted by the granulosa cells of growing follicles. Its measurement is strongly correlated with antral follicle count and represents a reliable marker of ovarian reserve. It also has the advantage of being highly reproducible since it has little variation within and between cycles. However, although it seems to be a good quantitative reflection of the ovarian reserve, it does not assess the oocyte quality. This drawback precludes any good prediction of female fertility in the general population. However, the AMH assay can become an indirect marker of female fertility in some situations at risk for premature ovarian failure or in the polycystic ovary syndrome. Its interest is no more to be proven in assisted reproductive technology where it is a valuable aid to the choice of the proposed techniques, ovarian stimulation protocols and gonadotropin doses. AMH is finally very informative in monitoring cancer patients having received ovariotoxic drugs or having undergone mutilating ovarian surgeries. In conclusion, although it cannot be considered itself as a reliable predictor of pregnancy in women, AMH is now a must in the management and treatment of female infertility.

Keywords: AMH; Fertility; Fertilité; Fiabilité; Prediction; Prédictibilité; Reliability.