Gestational Trophoblastic Disease

Gestational trophoblastic disease is a spectrum of interrelated abnormal proliferations of the placental trophoblast, encompassing benign hydatidiform moles (complete and partial) as well as gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, which includes invasive mole, choriocarcinoma, placental site trophoblastic tumor, and its related epithelioid trophoblastic tumor. Early detection of hydatidiform moles with ultrasonography and advances in uterine evacuation techniques have decreased serious bleeding and medical complications of molar pregnancy. The availability of accurate tests for measuring human chorionic gonadotropin as a disease-specific tumor marker and the introduction of chemotherapy into the management of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia have significantly reduced deaths so that the overall cure rate in treating these tumors is greater than 90% even in the presence of widely metastatic disease.