The correlation between morphological parameters and the incidence of de novo chromosomal abnormalities in 3238 biopsied blastocysts

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between morphological parameters and the incidence of de novo chromosomal abnormalities. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of 652 patients who underwent 921 cycles with 3238 blastocysts biopsied. The embryo grades were evaluated according to Gardner and Schoolcraft’s system. The incidence of euploidy, whole chromosomal aneuploidy (W-aneuploidy), segmental chromosomal aneuploidy (S-aneuploidy), and mosaicism in trophectoderm (TE) cell biopsies was analyzed. Results The euploidy decreased significantly with maternal age and was positively correlated biopsy day and morphological parameters. The W-aneuploidy increased significantly with maternal age and was negatively correlated biopsy day and morphological parameters. Parental age, TE biopsy day, and morphological parameters were not associated with S-aneuploidy and mosaicism, except that TE grade C blastocysts had significantly higher mosaicism than TE grade A blastocysts. Subanalysis in different female age groups showed that euploidy and W-aneuploidy had a significant correlation with TE biopsy day among women aged ≤ 30 y and 31–35 y, with expansion degree among women aged ≥ 36 y, with ICM grade among women aged ≥ 31 y, and with TE grade among all female age ranges. Conclusion Female age, embryo developmental speed and blastocyst morphological parameters are associated with euploidy and whole chromosomal aneuploidy. The predictive value of these factors varies across female age groups. Parental age, embryo developmental speed, expansion degree, and ICM grade are not associated with the incidence of segmental aneuploidy or mosaicism, but TE grade seemingly has a weak correlation with segmental aneuploidy and mosaicism in embryos.

The Association between Embryo Development and Chromosomal Results from PGT-A in Women of Advanced Age: A Prospective Cohort Study

“…An observational study noted that the morphology of blastocysts served as a predictive factor for their chromosomal status [7]: blastocysts exhibiting excellent morphology exhibited the highest rates of euploidy, while those with poor morphology exhibited the lowest rates. These findings align with those of numerous prior studies that have consistently reported an association between blastocyst morphology and euploidy rates [8][9][10][11]. However, a retrospective analysis observed that this association was unclear among women over the age of 35 [12].…”

“…Several studies also found that TE quality was independently associated with blastocyst ploidy and/or live birth rates [12,[33][34][35][36]. Some studies have also reported a similar association with ICM grade [5,11,12,37]. A retrospective study found that blastocyst morphological grade is associated with aneuploidy, and TE grade has a greater predictive power than ICM grade [9].…”