The effect of intramuscular 17α-hydroxyprogesterone caproate on the rate of cervical shortening

17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate does not prolong pregnancy or reduce the rate of preterm birth in women at high risk for preterm delivery and a short cervix: a randomized controlled trial

“…22,39,40 Two cohort studies of women with a history of spontaneous preterm birth who had serial CL measurements by transvaginal ultrasound reported that the administration of 17OHP-C did not change CL compared with patients who were not treated with 17OHP-C. 39,40 Moreover, 17OHP-C administration to pregnant rats did not change cervical collagen composition, 41 whereas similar experiments in mice did not show evidence of a change in gene expression in the uterine cervix. 42 Therefore, clinical and experimental studies have not shown evidence that 17OHP-C has effects on the cervix.…”

What we have learned about the role of 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate in the prevention of preterm birth

“…Prior trials with vaginal progesterone recruited women with notably shorter cervical length and may have represented a different preterm birth pathway that is more responsive to progestogen therapy. Previously, two retrospective studies did not identify an effect of 17-OHPC treatment of cervical length 43, 44 . While the relationship between plasma concentrations of 17-OHPC and preterm delivery has been evaluated, concentrations of the drug at the level of the cervix have not been assessed.…”

Pharmacy Compounding Quality Control and Pharmaceutical Development Strategies for Seventeen alpha Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate in Prevention of Preterm Delivery

“…Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced apoptosis in term fetal membranes by 17-OHPC may explain in part the mechanism by which 17-OHPC prevents preterm birth in some high-risk women [11]. The benefit of 17-OHPC to prolong pregnancy was neither demonstrated in women with short cervix [12][13][14][15], nor in women with multiple pregnancies [16][17][18]. 17-OHPC had no effect on the pathways known to be involved in uterine contractility or quiescence.…”