The aim of this study was to evaluate the ART outcomes for infertile males carrying a balanced structural chromosomal rearrangement or a Y-chromosome microdeletion, and to compare the results with a control group. The primary outcome was the clinical pregnancy rate. A retrospective case-control study has been carried out in the ART departments of the university hospitals of Bordeaux and la Réunion. Results of karyotypes and Y-chromosome microdeletions analysis of infertile men with sperm concentration lower than 5 millions/mL have been extracted from the softwares Jfiv® (Bordeaux) and MédiFirst® (la Réunion). The clinical pregnancy rate for carriers of balanced chromosomal rearrangements and Y-chromosome microdeletions was 28% and 43% respectively. The clinical pregnancy rate for the controls was 24% (non-significant difference). According to this study, balanced chromosomal rearrangements and Y-chromosome microdeletions are not found to affect the clinical pregnancy rate in conventional ART. Further larger scale studies are required to confirm these results.
Keywords: Assisted reproductive technology; Y-chromosome microdeletion; male infertility; structural rearrangement.