A survey of current research trends and potential future directions in reproductive immunology clinical trials

Abstract Reproductive immunology is a relatively recent field with a wide spectrum of research opportunities. Within the reproductive system, immune system dysfunction has been suggested to contribute to a variety of conditions - such as endometriosis, infertility, recurrent miscarriage, preeclampsia, and preterm delivery. Although there is preliminary research supporting these possible connections, further studies are necessary. A survey was conducted of current clinical trials to show the current state of reproductive immunology research to assess needs in less researched conditions. The survey was performed by accessing the ClinicalTrials.gov registry. “Reproductive immunology” was entered into the database, and the following filters were applied: “recruiting,” “active, not recruiting,” and “enrolling by invitation.” 153 studies were obtained, and the associated conditions were counted for how many times they were listed. Similar conditions were combined into one category – e.g. different types of leukemias were categorized as “Leukemia.” Although the rate of new female breast cancer cases is significantly higher than the rate of new leukemias in the general population, this survey suggests reproductive immunology research is more focused on leukemia than breast cancer. Male and female reproductive/breast cancer/endometrial cancer/endometriosis (6.17%), autoimmune diseases (4.43%), and pregnancy/contraception (0.58%) are less frequently listed compared to leukemia (45.28%) and hematologic diseases (15.80%) in the clinical trials registry as associated conditions. This information can potentially guide future research towards less studied conditions in the relatively new field of reproductive immunology.