A comment on the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology/American Society for Reproductive Medicine consensus of the polycystic ovarian syndrome.

This commentary on the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology/American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ESHRE/ASRM) consensus on diagnosis, nomenclature and long-term health risks of the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) (conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands, March 2003) questions whether the preservation of the term PCOS sufficiently considers the modern aspects of the aetiology and pathogenesis of this complex syndrome. The misleading and simplified term PCOS, which comprises a variety of different entities, carries with it the risk of misinterpretation and under- and overestimation of symptoms, as well as of overlooking contraindications. Additionally, bias in future studies is pre-programmed. In this commentary, it is proposed that the term polycystic should be substituted with polyfollicular, and the term PCOS with functional hyperandrogenism, which is further subdivided into five additional groups. By using this new classification, most of the patients' dysfunctions belonging to the unspecifically termed PCOS are clearly defined, which leads on to the assumption that the diagnostic and therapeutic approaches required will improve, and the amount of bias in both basic and clinical studies will be reduced, respectively.