Management of hydatidiform mole in women over 45 years old.

Abstract

AbstractIn order to estimate the incidence of hydatidiform mole in older women, the records of 369 cases of hydatidiform mole including 27 patients over 45 years of age were investigated and compared with total numbers and distributions of 4964 pregnancies by maternal age during a 6‐year period (1975 – 1980) at Tokyo Medical College Hospital.The incidence of hydatidiform mole in women over 45 years of age was extremely high, in spite of the low rate of pregnancy for that age. The increase was 45‐fold in such older patients. Eighteen of 27 cases over 45 years of age developed subsequently into malignant changes. The rate of such malignant progressions as choriocarcinoma or invasive mole was 66% in women over the age of 45 as compared with around 15% in those under 44 years of age. Thus, women aged 45 years or more are subject to a 4.4‐fold increase in the risk of choriocarcinoma or invasive mole.