MUC1 and E-cadherin immunohistochemistry of endometrium cannot predict the outcome of in vitro fertilization: A case-control study

Background: Although in vitro fertilization (IVF) has played a major role in the management of infertility, its failure rate is still 60-80% and most of the causes failure are unknown. Therefore, a histomorphology-based predictive tool to forecast IVF outcome that utilizes expression data of certain cellular adhesion molecules in endometrium pertaining to successful implantation might provide the theoretical basis to develop a low-cost laboratory investigation suited for low to middle income countries as opposed to the expensive gene expression based tools like endometrial receptivity array. In this study, mucin 1 (MUC1) and E-cadherin immunohistochemistry of endometrium from aspiring IVF women were analyzed to see if there is any correlation between signal intensities and endometrial receptivity in terms of IVF outcome. Methods: This was a case-control study conducted among women of reproductive age with infertility who underwent IVF at the Centre for Assisted Reproduction (CARe), Dhaka between March and December 2017. Endometrial biopsy samples were collected and routine histological as well as immunohistochemical analysis was performed on those samples at the Department of Pathology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka. A total of 21 patients, 17 cases (IVF failure) and four controls (IVF success), were included in the study by consecutive convenient sampling. Relevant history and medical records of each of the patients were also obtained accordingly. Results: No statistically significant correlation was found between IVF outcomes and the signal intensities in endometrium produced by MUC1 and E-cadherin immunohistochemistry. Conclusions: Despite the fact that this study did not find any statistically significant correlation between endometrial immunohistochemistry of MUC1 and E-cadherin and IVF outcome, further studies may incorporate gene expression arrays to supplement or revise those findings.