Endometriumreceptiviteit vanuit klinisch perspectief

Despite changes in clinical and laboratory protocols focused on improving embryo quality, IVF pregnancy rates remain around 20% per started cycle. Endometrial receptivity at the time of embryo transfer may also be an important factor determining success. Traditional histological means of assessing receptivity do not correlate with pregnancy rates. The pattern of expression of a number of morphological and molecular markers may offer a better assessment of endometrial receptivity. During the 'window of implantation', certain markers are expressed in characteristic patterns. In order to determine the true impact of interventions such as ovarian hyperstimulation on marker expression and the window of implantation, in-vivo studies using non-invasive techniques for analysing endometrial response are required. In this article, we review some of the molecular markers likely to aid in endometrial assessment. Accurate assessment of endometrial receptivity may also facilitate the development of therapeutic interventions, which may lead to improvements in the success rates of IVF treatment.