Placental Site Trophoblastic Tumor Research Articles

Organ-preserving treatment of a patient with a trophoblastic tumor of the placental bed (clinical observation and literature review)

Placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) is а rare form of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN), accounting 0,2 % of total cases of GTN. PSTTs occur in women of childbearing age and most of them have strong desire to preserve fertility. PSSTs are tumors with unpredictable biological behavior, high chemo-resistance and possibly fatal outcome in case of metastatic disease.Hysterectomy is the primary treatment of choice in early disease. We report a rare clinical case of fertility sparing treatment for PSTT.

A Case of Placental Implantation with Exaggerated Placental Site

Objective: This study aims to investigate the clinical symptoms, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and prognosis of exaggerated placental site (EPS), in order to reduce misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of EPS, avoid the occurrence of serious complications such as massive hemorrhage, and provide some references for clinical doctors. Methods: Retrospective analysis of the medical history and treatment of a patient with placental implantation with exaggerated placental site. A 23-year-old female presented with persistent vaginal bleeding after medical abortion. She was diagnosed with retained products of conception and underwent hysteroscopic surgery. The preliminary postoperative pathological results indicate the possibility of EPS and placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT). Further immunohistochemical testing was performed, and the results suggested EPS. Results: The patient recovered well after surgery and did not require further treatment. Her serum human chorionic gonadotropin levels and transvaginal ultrasound findings were normal. Conclusion: EPS is a benign disease, and symptoms will disappear after lesion clearance, requiring no special treatment or follow-up, with a good prognosis. Due to the low incidence rate, atypical clinical symptoms, and insufficient recognition by clinical doctors, EPS are prone to misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis, leading to serious consequences such as massive hemorrhage and hysterectomy. EPS should be considered as a possible diagnosis in any woman who has irregular bleeding following medical abortion.

Role of Uterine Artery Ligation and Chemotherapy in Atypical Cases of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease: A Case Report of Atypical GTD Diagnosis & Management

Introduction Gestational trophoblastic disease[1 i ] is a rare developmental form of proliferative trophoblastic tissue in women of reproductive age that involves both benign and malignant entities that include hydatidiform mole (complete or partial), choriocarcinoma, invasive mole, epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT), and placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT). Four of these known as gestational trophoblastic neoplasia [2 ii], and hydatidiform is most common type of GTD. Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) is a type of gestational trophoblastic disease that is almost always malignant, and can metastasize and be fatal if not treated. The ultimate treatment for GTD includes surgery (evacuation of the proliferative trophoblastic tissue, hysterectomy), chemotherapy regimens, radiotherapy and emerging targeted therapies. It is one of the most chemotherapy responsive and highly curable cancer. In most instances, it is cured by surgical evacuation of the uterus. If persistent, it is treated with chemotherapy which provides response in >90% of the cases. In the unresponsive persistent cases and if the women has completed her child bearing, hysterectomy is generally recommended. Here, we report a case of atypical GTD {uncommon, that is not fitting a single diagnosis} treated by chemotherapy and bilateral uterine artery ligation.

Management challenges for Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia in a 54 years old perimenopausal woman ; A case report.

Background: Gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD) are pregnancy-related disorders that originate from trophoblast cells. They include benign and aggressive tumors, such as invasive moles, choriocarcinomas, placental site trophoblastic tumors, and epithelioid trophoblastic tumors. Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) mostly occur in women of reproductive age, whereas it is extremely rare in postmenopausal women. Case presentation: A 54-year-old woman presented with prolonged bleeding, abdominal fullness, and pelvic mass with a history of a missed abortion two months prior to the onset of the symptoms and was medically managed. Her general and systemic examination findings were unremarkable. On abdominal examination, the uterus was 14 weeks in size. On speculum examination, the cervix and vagina were normal. On bimanual examination, the uterus was 14 weeks, mobile, and the adnexa were normal. Investigations included serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), abdominopelvic magnetic resonance imaging, and chest computed tomography. Her initial hCG was 179,000 mIu/ml with a bulky uterus and endometrial mass of approximately 6 cm and multiple bilateral chest metastatic nodules. The patient was scored as stage III:10 and started on etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin alternating with cyclophosphamide, and vincristine (EMACO). She received 11 cycles of EMACO. Her management included repeated transfusions, granulocyte-stimulating factors administration, and ICU admission. Discussion: Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia accounts for rare gynecological malignancies in postmenopausal women. The risk of GTD progressing to GTN is 5% in younger women and five-fold higher (27%) after 45 years. Conclusion: GTN is a rare gynecological malignancy in postmenopausal women. The presentation mimics other gynecological malignancies. Hence, a high index of suspicion is required. Histopathological confirmation is mostly unavailable. It carries a poor prognosis compared with younger women with a high incidence of metastatic, recurrent, and low tolerance to standard multi-agent chemotherapeutic drugs.

Placental site trophoblastic tumour: A case report and literature review

Placental site trophoblastic tumour: A case report and literature review

Clinical features and demographic characteristics of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia: Single center experience and the SEER database.

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical features and demographic characteristics of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) patients, specifically choriocarcinoma (CC), placental site trophoblastic tumour (PSTT), and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT). We utilized data from a local hospital and the SEER database, as well as survival outcomes of CC in SEER database. Additionally, we used multiple risk factors to create a prognostic nomogram model for CC patients. The study included GTN patients from the SEER database between 1975 and 2016 as well as those from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi 'an Jiaotong University between January 2005 and May 2022. Related factors of patients were compared using the chi-square (χ2) or Fisher's exact test. For assessing overall survival we employed the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. To construct the nomogram, we used Cox regression. Statistically significant differences were found between CC and PSTT/ETT patients in terms of surgery in local hospital, as well as age and year of diagnosis in the SEER database. Moreover, significant differences were observed between low and high (HR) /ultra-high risk (UHR) groups regarding FIGO stage, surgery and chief complaint at the local hospital, and FIGO stage, surgery and unemployment in the SEER database. The Cox regression analysis confirmed that age, race, surgery, marital status, FIGO stage, and unemployment were correlated with CC prognosis. Furthermore, the analysis showed that patients aged 40 years or older and those with FIGO Ⅲ/Ⅳ were independent prognostic factors of CC. The study indicates that atypical symptoms or signs may be the main reasons for HR /UHR patients to seek medical treatment. Therefore, providing multidisciplinary care is recommended for CC patients experiencing psychological distress due to unfavorable marital status or unemployment.

Placental Site Trophoblastic Tumor – A Rare Gestational Trophoblastic Disease: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Abstract Placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) represents a rare form of gestational trophoblastic disease. It occurs commonly in females with a history of miscarriage, termination of pregnancy, or any other ongoing pathological pregnancy. We report this rare case in a 23-year-old female, who previously had a history of recurrent miscarriages. In this case, we emphasize on clinical and histopathological features for better understanding and awareness of such rare entities.

Case Report: Placental site trophoblastic tumor revealed by a clinical pelvic abscess

We report an uncommon clinical presentation of a placental site trophoblastic tumor. The patient presented initially with abdominal pain with, fever, bleeding and pelvic mass on ultrasonography leading to the wrong diagnosis of a pelvic abscess. Dilation and curettage were performed and pathological examination confirmed the diagnosis. of placental site trophoblastic tumor. Therefore, she underwent abdominal hysterectomy. Four years after surgery, the patient is still disease free. Gestational trophoblastic diseases should be considered in every patient presenting abnormal uterine bleeding after delivery or pregnancy loss despite the associated symptoms being very unusual.

Radiation Therapy for Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia: Forward-Looking Lessons Learnt.

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) includes several rare malignant diseases occurring after pregnancy: invasive moles, choriocarcinoma, placental site trophoblastic tumours, and epithelioid trophoblastic tumours. Multidisciplinary protocols including multi-agent chemotherapy, surgery, and occasionally radiotherapy achieve good outcomes for some high-risk metastatic patients. In this narrative review of the published studies on the topic, we have tried to identify the role of radiotherapy. The available studies are mainly small, old, and retrospective, with incomplete data regarding radiotherapy protocols delivering low doses (which can make this disease appear radioresistant in some cases despite high response rates with palliative doses) to wide fields (whole-brain, whole-liver, etc.), which can increase toxicity. Studies considering modern techniques are needed to overcome these limitations and determine the full potential of radiotherapy beyond its antihemorrhagic and palliative roles.

Tru-cut placental site trophoblastic tumor biopsy: A novel way for diagnosis. Case report

Background: A Placental Site Trophoblastic Tumor (PSTT) is a rare form of gestational trophoblastic disease and usually manifests itself with abnormal uterine bleeding and elevated β-hCG serum levels even months or years after any antecedent pregnancy event. Typically, tumors are confined into the uterus and secrete lower levels of β-hCG compared with other Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia (GTN). They can be detected sonographically like heterogeneous solid mass in the uterine cavity with minimal to high vascularization, but sometimes they develop into myometrium without endometrial involvement. To the best of our knowledge, uterine biopsy is the only way to make a reliable diagnosis, but for these reasons sometimes Dilation and Curettage (D&C) or hysteroscopy are not exhaustive. Their final diagnosis is histopathological and often very difficult due to their rarity, thus many times they directly present metastasis symptoms (mainly pulmonary) or paraneoplastic syndromes. Case presentation: A 37-year-old woman with the purpose of a second pregnancy, after seven weeks of amenorrhea, complained irregular bleeding and metrorrhagia. The patient underwent transvaginal ultrasound (US) and a lesion of 50 mm was found in myometrium, its echostructure was inhomogeneous and richly vascularised (CS4) with rear acoustic reinforcement. It was associated with slightly elevated serum levels of β-hCG. The patient performed a hysteroscopy with simultaneous tru-cut biopsy of the lesion under US guidance and a placental site trophoblastic tumor was diagnosed by histological examination. Conclusion: In this paper we suggest a novel method to perform the PSTT diagnosis. A tru-cut core biopsy allows a deep and precise biopsy with less invasivity and low risk of bleeding or uterine damage. Our case study shows that the employment of this novel technique can help in the diagnosis through a targeted sampling of the myometrium even in those cases in which the endometrial cavity is not involved.

Synchronous placental site trophoblastic tumor and choriocarcinoma

Link of Video Abstract: https://youtu.be/bx7KdiTKiOQ Introduction: Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) comprises a series of malignancies characterized by abnormal proliferation of fetal trophoblastic tissue. GTN lesions refer to a class of malignant lesions that have distinct histopathologic features, including invasive hydatidiform moles, choriocarcinomas, placental site trophoblastic tumors (PSTT), and epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT). Most often, they occur coexist separately, but there are also cases of mixed GTN with a combination of histologic PSTT, ETT, or choriocarcinoma. PSTT is a rare form of gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD). The percent incidence of this disease is 0.23% of total GTD and 1-2% of total GTN. The incidence rate of choriocarcinoma is also limited. Data collection on the incidence of mixed GTN has been more challenging due to the rarity of this disease. Case Description: We report a case of a 26-year-old female patient with choriocarcinoma and PSTT. The patient’s beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels remained elevated despite treatment with single-agent chemotherapeutic regimen. She underwent a series of chemotherapy treatments and two surgeries were required. The histological examination of the uterine tumor revealed a choriocarcinoma whilst the hysterectomy thereafter showed a PSTT. After the hysterectomy the β-hCG level continued to rise. Due to chemotherapy resistance, EMACO (etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin-D, cyclophosphamide, vincristine) was changed to EP-EMA (Etoposide, cisplatin, etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin-D). After two administrations of EP-EMA, β-hCG levels normalized. Conclusion: This is a rare case of mixed GTN of choriocarcinoma and PSTT. Mixed GTN should be considered when chemotherapy is not effective in the treatment of GTN. These cases need to be reported to improve the diagnosis and management of patients.

A Rare Case of Placental Site Trophoblastic Tumor

Placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) is a rare entity of malignant gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) with an incidence of 0.23 to 3% of all gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD). They originate from intermediate trophoblastic cells of the placenta. They are slow-growing tumors and less chemo sensitive. Per vaginal bleeding following a miscarriage is not uncommon, however malignant variants of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia also could be a possibility. We are reporting a 24-year-old who was an otherwise healthy female who presented with persistent per vaginal bleeding following the first-trimester miscarriage in her second pregnancy. Initial histology of suction evacuation for her miscarriage has shown a partial mole. Since she continues to have per vaginal bleeding even a month later, repeat evacuation was done and beta hCG was high (2132mIU/ml), she was treated with a methotrexate regime. During follow up there was a slow rising of beta hCG level and hysterectomy was carried out due to the suspicions of invasive mole or PSTT. Histology confirmed a placental site trophoblastic tumor and her recovery and follow-up were uneventful.

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia of intermediate trophoblasts: Epithelioid trophoblastic tumor and placental site trophoblastic tumor, a study of morphologic, immunohistochemical, and next generation sequencing.

Gestational trophoblastic tumors are very rare neoplasms. We determined the distinctive morphological, immunohistochemical, and clinical features of placental site trophoblastic tumors (PSTT) and epithelioid trophoblastic tumors (ETT) in our cohort. Nine cases of PSTT and four cases of ETT were retrieved from the archives. Histomorphologic, immunohistochemical, and clinical features were noted. A molecular study was performed on one PSTT and one ETT case using next-generation sequencing. While the nodular pattern, geographic necrosis, and extracellular eosinophilic globules were peculiar to ETTs, vessel wall affinity, marked pleomorphism, intranuclear pseudoinclusion, spindle tumor cell, and vacuolar degeneration were more specific for PSTTs in our series. An immunohistochemical panel of p63, hPL, and CD146 were helpful for the exact typing of the tumor. p63 positivity supports the ETT and diffuse staining of hPL and CD146 supports the PSTT diagnosis. Three of the patients with metastatic disease (lung and brain metastasis) except one have a high mitotic count (12 and 8) and a long interval between (8 and 10 years) antecedent pregnancy and diagnosis. While KIT and TP53 mutations were observed only in PSTT, amino acid changes in KDR, APC, and SMAD4 genes were detected both in the ETT and PSTT cases. In the prediction of metastasis, the long intervals between antecedent pregnancy and diagnosis, deep myometrial invasion, mitotic count, and Ki67 proliferation index were involved rather than other histomorphological parameters, but none of the parameters is an absolute predictor of the metastasis.

Risk Factors Related to Gestational Trophoblastic Disease

Background: Gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD) consist of a group of neoplastic disorders arising from placental trophoblastic tissue after normal or abnormal fertilization. The WHO classification of GTD includes hydatidiform mole, invasive mole, choriocarcinoma, placental site trophoblastic tumor, and miscellaneous and unclassified trophoblastic lesions. This study aimed to analyze the risk factors related to the gestational trophoblastic disease. Material Methods: This prospective study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics Gynecology in Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh for 1 year; from April 2020 to March 2021. A total of 100 subjects were included in this study. Informed written consent was taken from the study subjects. Data was collected using a pre-formed data sheet. Data processing and analysis were done by using SPSS version 17. The test statistics used to analyze the data were descriptive statistics, the McNemar Chi-square test, and Repeated Measure ANOVA statistics. All patients underwent necessary investigations. All information was kept confidential and used only for this study purpose. The ethical Clearance Certificate was obtained from Bangladesh Medical College. Results: The majority of the patients were more than of 38 years age (53, 53.0%). Out of these patients, 50 (50.0%) were para one, while 40 (40.0%) were para more than four, most of the patients (63, 63.9%) were illiterate and 5 (5.0%) were graduates, most of the subjects (73, 73.0%) belonged to the low socioeconomic group. The most common presenting symptom was bleeding per vagina (35, 35.0%) followed by pain in the lower abdomen (24, 24.0%), the passage of moles (16, 16.0%), hyperemesis gravidarum (14, 14.0%) and dyspnea in 11 (11.0%) subjects. Conclusion: The disease was common in extremes of ages, low para, and grand multiparous women. The hydatidiform mole was the commonest type of trophoblastic disease in these patients. The most common presenting complaint was bleeding per vagina followed by pain in the lower abdomen. The hydatidiform mole was diagnosed in 65 (65.0%) patients, the invasive mole in 28 subjects (28.0%), and choriocarcinoma in 7 (7.0%) patients. No patient had a placental site trophoblastic tumor.

Gestational and Non-gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia. Guideline of the DGGG, OEGGG and SGGG (S2k-Level, AWMF Registry No. 032/049, April 2022).

Purpose The aim was to develop and update a guideline which would improve the quality of care offered to women with gestational and non-gestational trophoblastic disease, a group of diseases characterized by their rarity and biological heterogeneity. Methods In accordance with the method used to compile S2k-guidelines, the guideline authors carried out a search of the literature (MEDLINE) for the period 1/2020 to 12/2021 and evaluated the recent literature. No key questions were formulated. No structured literature search with methodical evaluation and assessment of the level of evidence was carried out. The text of the precursor version of the guideline from 2019 was updated based on the most recent literature, and new statements and recommendations were drafted. Recommendations The updated guideline contains recommendations for the diagnosis and therapy of women with hydatidiform mole (partial and complete moles), gestational trophoblastic neoplasia after pregnancy or without prior pregnancy, persistent trophoblastic disease after molar pregnancy, invasive moles, choriocarcinoma, placental site nodules, placental site trophoblastic tumor, hyperplasia at the implantation site und epithelioid trophoblastic tumor. Separate chapters cover the determination and assessment of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), histopathological evaluation of specimens, and the appropriate molecular pathological and immunohistochemical diagnostic procedures. Separate chapters on immunotherapy, surgical therapy, multiple pregnancies with simultaneous trophoblastic disease, and pregnancy after trophoblastic disease were formulated, and the corresponding recommendations agreed upon.

Prophylactic Chemotherapy for the Prevention of Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia- A descriptive study

Background: Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia develops from the trophoblastic cells which later form the placenta. It ranges from the relatively benign partial and complete hydatidiform mole while choriocarcinoma and the rare placental site trophoblastic tumor are its malignant variants. The risk of developing gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) is 15-17% after complete mole and 3.5-4% after partial mole1,2. This risk is more in patients with high-risk molar pregnancy1,2. Aim: To evaluate the role of prophylactic chemotherapy in prevention of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia in patients who fall in high-risk molar category. Place and duration of study: Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital and Surgimed Hospital, 2016-2020 (4 years duration) Study design: Descriptive case series Methodology: Twenty three patients who presented with high-risk molar pregnancy in the study period were included in this study after takinginformed consent.These patients were divided into two groups. Group A included those patients who underwent suction evacuation followed by prophylactic chemotherapy; they were 13 in number, while group B had 10 patients and they underwent suction and evacuation only. Single dose of methotrexate 1mg/kg body weight was given to the patients in group A. Patients were asked about the history of excessive vaginal bleeding and serial beta hcg levels were carried out on follow up. Results: The patients average age was 32 years with the range between 25-42 years.14 patients (61%) were more than 40 years old while 9 patients (39%) were less than 40 years old. Three patients had beta hcg levels above 100,000 IU/ml. Patients were followed up withserial beta hcg levels till they became negative.No patient (0%) in group A developed gestational trophoblastic neoplasia while two patients (15.3%) in group B developed persistent vaginal bleeding and 1 patient (7%) developed choriocarcinoma involving the brain. Conclusion: Prophylactic chemotherapy reduces the risk of development of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia as concluded by thisstudy. However, only 16% of patients in high-risk molar category develop gestational trophoblastic neoplasia2 which means this will expose 84% patients to unnecessary chemotherapy. This will increase the cost of treatment also. Keywords: Molar pregnancy, Prophylactic chemotherapy, Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

Expression of the immune targets in tumor-infiltrating immunocytes of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

Objectives: To evaluate the expression of emerging immune targets in the tumor-infiltrating immunocytes (TIIs) of human gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) specimens, and to analyze the correlation between the expression patterns and prognosis of GTN patients. Methods: Between January 2008 and December 2017, patients who were diagnosed histologically with GTN were included in this study. The expression densities of LAG-3, TIM-3, GAL-9, PD-1, CD68, CD8, and FOXP3 in the TIIs were assessed independently by two pathologists blinded to clinical outcomes. The expression patterns and correlation with patient outcomes were analyzed to identify prognostic factors. Results: We identified 108 patients with GTN, including 67 with choriocarcinoma, 32 with placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT), and 9 with epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT). Almost all GTN patients showed expression of GAL-9, TIM-3, and PD-1 in TIIs (100%, 92.6%, and 90.7%, respectively); LAG-3 was expressed in 77.8% of the samples. The expression densities of CD68 and GAL-9 were significantly higher in choriocarcinoma than that in PSTT and ETT. The TIM-3 expression density in choriocarcinoma was higher than that in PSTT. In addition, the expression density of LAG-3 in the TIIs of choriocarcinoma and PSTT was higher than that in ETT. There was no statistical difference in the expression pattern of PD-1 among different pathological subtypes. The positive expression of LAG-3 in tumor TIIs was a prognostic factor for disease recurrence, and patients with positive expression of LAG-3 in the TIIs had poorer disease-free survival (p = 0.026). Conclusion: Our study evaluated the expression of immune targets PD-1, TIM-3, LAG-3, and GAL-9 in the TIIs of GTN patients and found that they were widely expressed but not associated with patients' prognoses, excepting the positive expression of LAG-3 was a prognostic factor for disease recurrence.

Retrospective analysis of clinical features and fertility outcomes with fertility-sparing treatment of placental site trophoblastic tumor

ObjectiveTo analyze the methods, feasibility, efficiency, and fertility outcomes of fertility-sparing treatment for patients with placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT). MethodsClinical data of patients diagnosed with PSTT between April 1998 and April 2020 from Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) were retrospectively collected. The clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of patients received fertility-sparing treatment were analyzed and compared with patients suffered hysterectomy. ResultsIn total, 126 patients were included in the study and 29 of them received fertility-sparing treatment. Besides significantly younger age and lower proportion of antecedent term delivery were seen in fertility-sparing group than hysterectomy group, no significant differences were observed in stage, serum β-hCG level, or interval from antecedent pregnancy between the two groups. Conservative surgery was selected individualized and none of them suffered salvage hysterectomy. Patients with clinical or pathological high-risk factors received adjuvant chemotherapy, yet the fertility-sparing treatment did not significantly lengthen chemotherapy duration. All patients in fertility-sparing group achieved complete remission without relapse after 36 to 176 months of follow-up and had sixteen healthy term delivery more than one year after the treatment. ConclusionsFertility-sparing treatment for PSTT can be considered for young patients with localized uterine lesions who strongly desire to preserve their fertility potential. With individualized conservative surgery and selected adjuvant chemotherapy, fertility-sparing treatment will not influence the risk of relapse or overall survival and patients will achieve favorable pregnancy and live birth outcomes.

Outcomes of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease in King Khalid National Guard Hospital

Objective: The objective of this study is to review the outcomes of gestational trophoblastic disease in our center, and to compare it with international figures. We will calculate the rates of remission, recurrence, and mortality. Also, we will determine the mean duration taken for normalization of β-hCG level after initiation of treatment, and the distribution of the disease by age and parity. Methods: Retrospective chart review of the patients diagnosed with gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) and treated in King Khalid National Guard Hospital in the period between January 2000 and December 2005. Results: During the study period, there were 29 cases of gestational trophoblastic disease. The majority of the cases were non-metastatic GTD (55.2%) followed by, in decreasing order of frequency, molar pregnancy (24.1%), metastatic high-risk GTD (10.3%), metastatic low-risk GTD (6.9%) and placental-site trophoblastic tumor (3.4%). Patient's age ranged from sixteen to fifty-three years old, with the majority in the fourth decade of life (37.9%). The parity as well was highly variable from zero to fifteen, with the majority between five and ten (37.9%). Remission rate in the malignant GTD was 85.7%. There were no cases of recurrence during the follow-up period. The overall mortality rate was 3.4%. The mean duration required for normalization of β-hCG level was 10.3 weeks for molar pregnancy and 11.6 weeks for malignant GTD. Conclusion: The chemotherapy success rate, remission rate & mortality rate were similar to that reported in earlier studies. There is a need for patient education regarding strict follow-up for early detection and intervention of malignant sequelae.

Non-choriocarcinomatous trophoblastic tumors of testis in postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissections.

Non-choriocarcinomatous trophoblastic tumors (NCTTs) are seldomly diagnosed in male genital tract. As they have been recently described among the testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT) variants, pathologists' familiarity with their morphology is limited. We searched our electronic hospital records covering the years 2000-2017 for post-chemotherapy retroperitoneal TGCT metastectomies. Slides of all cases with viable tumor were retrieved from the archives and reviewed. Cases suspected of N-CTT morphologies were subjected to immunohistochemistry. Twelve NCTTs were identified, 9 of which were unseen or misdiagnosed by the original pathologists: Cystic trophoblastic tumor (CTT) (n = 5), placental site trophoblastic tumor (n = 2), epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) (n = 4), and coinciding PSTT + ETT (n = 1). Eight of these were associated with mature teratoma components, and one case (ETT) contained embryonal carcinoma and yolk sac tumor in addition to teratoma. Ten patients were clinically N1 at the time of primary tumor detection and orchiectomy. One patient had burned-out primary testicular tumor. Six patients were clinical M1a at presentation, while one male was cM1b. Six patients had mildly elevated β-HCG (≤ 410 mIU/ml) just prior to retroperitoneal lymph node dissections (RPLND), while the others had normal β-HCG levels. All patients had follow-ups ranging from 8 to 118months (mean 42.3months). Three patients died of disease-related and two of unrelated causes. In conclusion, because NCTTs are rare and newly described tumor types, their diagnosis is difficult and most of them are missed in post-chemotherapy RPLNDs. The majority of patients exhibit normal or slightly elevated β-HCG levels. N-CTTs are usually accompanied by other components of TGCT, the most common being teratoma. Despite the high survival rate of the patients, our study points to the unpredictable evolution of NCTT cases, which may concur with a high-stage or progressive disease.