Trophoblastic neoplasm

Trophoblastic neoplasm
Micrograph of intermediate trophoblast and a hydatidiform mole (bottom of image). H&E stain.
Specialty	Oncology

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) is group of rare diseases related to pregnancy and included in gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) in which abnormal trophoblast cells grow in the uterus.^[1] GTN can be classified into benign and malignant lesions. Benign lesions include placental site nodule and hydatidiform moles while malignant lesions have^[2] four subtypes including invasive mole, gestational choriocarcinoma, placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT).^[3] The choriocarcinoma has 2 significant subtypes including gestational and non-gestational and they are differentiated by their different biological feature and prognosis.^[4] Signs and symptoms of GTN will appear vary from person to person and depending upon the type of the disease. They may include uterine bleeding not related to menstruation, pain or pressure in pelvis, large uterus and high blood pressure during pregnancy. The cause of this disease is unknown but the identification of the tumor based on total beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) in the serum.

Management of GTN requires pathology review, treatment options and monitoring of hCG. Therefore, it can be treated with curettage, hysterectomy and single agent or multi agent chemotherapy.^[4] Although this group of diseases are highly susceptible to chemotherapy, prognosis depends on the type of GTN and whether the tumor has spread to other areas of the body.^[5]