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Gestational trophoblastic disease

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Definition:

Gestational trophoblastic disease is a quick growing form of cancer that occurs in a woman's uterus after a pregnancy, miscarriage, or abortion. It is usually metastatic, which means it spreads to other places in the body.

Gestational trophoblastic disease is also called a choriocarcinoma.

Alternative Names:

Chorioblastoma; Choriocarcinoma; Trophoblastic tumor; Chorioepithelioma; Invasive/malignant mole; Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Choriocarcinoma remains an uncommon, yet almost always curable, cancer that can be associated with pregnancy.

The cancer forms in the tissues that develop after a baby is conceived. A choriocarcinoma looks like the cells that normally surround a developing baby (embryo).

In approximately 50% of cases of choriocarcinoma, the woman had a hydatidiform mole (molar pregnancy).

Nearly one-fourth of choriocarcinomas occur after pregnancy has resulted in the delivery of a normal child. The remainder of cases occurs after any type of abortion , ectopic pregnancy , or genital tumor .

• Review Date: 9/11/2006
• Reviewed By: Rita Nanda, M.D., Department of Medicine, Section of Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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