The First Lugano Workshop on the role of adenomyosis in ART

Abstract

Adenomyosis is an important clinical condition with uncertain prevalence, and clinical focus on adenomyosis in patients undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) has increased during recent years. Recognizing the limited clinical knowledge on the impact of adenomyosis on ART outcomes, the First Lugano Adenomyosis Workshop was a symposium involving experts in the field of adenomyosis, covering basic research, imaging, surgery and infertility to highlight current advances and future research areas over a wide range of topics related to adenomyosis. Adenomyosis is characterized by altered oestrogen and progesterone signalling pathways. Although the criteria of the Morphological Uterus Sonographic Assessment (MUSA) Consortium apply to patients with infertility, the presence of direct signs and localization in the different myometrial layers, particularly the inner myometrium, need more focus. In addition to the MUSA criteria, clinical symptoms and the magnitude of uterine enlargement should also be considered. Whilst pre-treatment with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist with or without an aromatase inhibitor in frozen embryo transfer cycles seems promising, many issues related to therapy remain unanswered. During the Workshop, therapeutic progress over the past decades as well as novel insights were presented and discussed. The role of this opinion paper is to stimulate discussion and spark further interest in adenomyosis and the role of adenomyosis in infertility.

Keywords: ART; Adenomyosis; Diagnosis; Hormonal treatment; Pathogenesis; Surgical treatment.