Gestational trophoblastic diseases presented with persistent low levels of hCG

Abstract

Objective To study the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with persistent low levels of β-hCG. Methods To analyze the clinical data of 6 patients with persistent low level of β-hCG retrospectively and review the relevant literature. Results The periods of low levels of β-hCG in the 6 patients were 10-53 months. The range of β-hCG was 3～637 U/L. The last pregnancy were hydatidiform mole in 5 cases and abortion in 1 case. After hydatidiform mole 5 cases were received multi-chemotherapy. Normal level of β-hCG maintained 1-12 months after chemotherapy, then β-hCG titer has gone up again, One patient developed lung metastases after 30 months and then cured by surgery and chemotherapy. There were no clinical evidence of malignancy in the other 4 cases, and 1 case received no therapy after abortion during course of therapy and following up. Conclusion Persistent low level of hCG was a special kind of disease with poor response to chemotherapy, but the majority were with stable status. Therapy should be restrained if there was no evidence of malignancy. Key words: Chorionic gonadotropin; Gestational trophoblastic disease; Drug therapy, combination