THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SERUM PROGESTERONE AND SERUM UNCONJUGATED OESTRADIOL-17β IN UNABORTED HYDATIDIFORM MOLE

Abstract

Both serum progesterone and serum unconjugated oestradiol-17beta (Oe2) were measured by competitive protein binding assay and radioimmunoassay respectively in 42 cases of unaborted hydatidiform mole. Serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) was measured by a haemagglutination-inhibition technique. In 26 cases of intact molar pregnancies without theca lutein cysts (TLC), serum progesterone ranged from 18.0 to 289.0 ng/ml with a mean +/- standard error of the mean (SEM) of 65.9 +/- 13.1 ng/ml; serum Oe2 ranged from 4.0 to 37.0 ng/ml with a mean +/- SEM of 17.9 +/- 1.9 ng/ml; serum HCG ranged from 60 to 1920 IU/ml with a mean +/- SEM of 531.5 +/- 105.7 IU/ml. In contrast, 16 cases of intact molar pregnancies with TLC had serum progesterone ranging from 34.1 to 288.0 ng/ml with a mean +/- SEM of 134.1 +/- 2.4 ng/ml; serum Oe2 ranging from 1.7 to 76.3 ng/ml with a mean +/- SEM of 31.5 +/- 5.3 ng/ml; serum HCG ranging from 320 to 2560 IU/ml with a mean +/- SEM 1400 +/- 196.2 ng/ml. The differences between the mean of these three hormones in hydatidiform mole with and without TLC were significant (progesterone: P less than 0.005; Oe2: P less than 0,0125; HCG: P less than 0.005). There was a significant correlation between serum HCG and serum Oe2 (coefficient of correlation r = +0.3565, P less than 0.0125) and between serum Oe2 and serum progesterone (r = +0.3787, P less than 0.0125). There was no significant difference in the mean levels of serum progesterone, Oe2 and HCG in hydatidiform mole with and without subsequent malignant sequelae. The mean ratios of Oe2/progesterone were essentially similar in moles with and without TLC and with and without malignant sequelae. The significance of these findings are discussed.