Is serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) assay a satisfactory measure for ovarian reserve estimation? A comparison of serum and peritoneal fluid AMH levels

BACKGROUND Clinical cases have been reported with women who got pregnant with confirmed low serum anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) concentrations, thus demonstrating that low serum AMH concentration cut-points could be fairly specific for poor ovarian response (POR) to gonadotrophin stimulation, but not for pregnancy. That observation prompted the question whether serum AMH concentration accurately corresponded to the whole amount of AMH secreted by granulosa cells. OBJECTIVES To measure AMH levels in peritoneal fluid and their correlations with serum AMH concentrations. MATERIAL AND METHODS The reported study involved 48 female patients, aged 18-40 years, diagnosed with benign ovarian cysts and qualified for a laparoscopic cystectomy. Prior to surgery, the ovarian reserve was assessed using serum AMH concentration assay. The peritoneal fluid was also collected during the laparoscopy and AMH concentrations in peritoneal fluid were measured. RESULTS The AMH present in the peritoneal fluid strongly correlated with AMH levels in blood serum (r = 0.54; p < 0.001) and higher serum AMH concentrations corresponded to higher AMH concentrations in the peritoneal fluid. There was also a significant correlation between AMH levels in serum and in peritoneal fluid, collected from patients with endometrioma and other benign cysts (r = 0.61; p = 0.001 vs r = 0.43; p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS The AMH is present in the peritoneal fluid and its concentrations significantly correlate with AMH levels in serum. The assessment of AMH concentration in the peritoneal fluid may be a valuable complement to the evaluation of ovarian reserve and the diagnosis of infertility after adnexal surgery.