The management of hydatidiform mole using prophylactic chemotherapy and hysterectomy for high-risk patients decreased the incidence of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia in Vietnam: a retrospective observational study.

The management of hydatidiform mole (HM) and the incidence of post-molar gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) in Vietnam has not been reported to date. This study aimed to study the incidence of HM and post-molar GTN and identify factors associated with post-molar GTN at a tertiary hospital in Vietnam. Five hundred and eighty-four patients who were treated for HM at Tu Du Hospital between January and December 2010 were included in this study. The mean age and gestational age at the first evacuation were 28.8 years old and 11.0 weeks, respectively. After the initial evacuation and pathological examination, 87 patients who were older than 40 or did not wish to have children underwent a hysterectomy, while the others underwent second curettage. All 472 patients who had human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) ≥ 100,000 IU/L before treatment received one cycle of methotrexate with folinic acid as prophylactic chemotherapy. The incidence of HM was 11.1 per 1,000 deliveries; 47 patients (8.0%) developed post-molar GTN. Gestational week, hCG level at one week after the first evacuation, and pathological remnants were significantly associated with the development of post-molar GTN. The results of this study suggest that prophylactic chemotherapy and hysterectomy may be useful for high-risk HM patients to reduce post-molar GTN in settings in which the risk of post-molar GTN and loss to follow-up after HM are greater and hCG measurements and appropriate GTN treatments are unavailable. However, future studies on the long-term outcomes and side effects of prophylactic therapies on HM are required.

Analysis of risk factors for postmolar trophoblastic disease: categorization of risk factors and effect of prophylactic chemotherapy.

Early identification of high risk molar pregnancy is important in preventing the development of subsequent postmolar trophoblastic disease (PMTD). In the present study, evaluation of risk factors of developing PMTD, and indications for initiating prophylactic chemotherapy, and investigation of the effects of prophylactic chemotherapy were undertaken. One hundred and forty complete molar pregnancies treated at Yonsei University College of Medicine were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty-six cases of PMTD developed in these molar pregnancies during follow-up. Risk factors for PMTD were ranked according to frequency with which they were associated with PMTD. The patients with no risk factors were classified in the low-risk group, with one or two in the medium-risk group, and with three or more in the high-risk group. Prophylactic chemotherapy was administered to 14 of 52 low-risk, to 21 of 46 medium-risk, and to 17 of 42 high-risk patients. Among the high-risk patients, the time required for remission was significantly shorter in the group with prophylactic chemotherapy (13.5 weeks) than in the group without prophylactic chemotherapy (22.4 weeks). There were no differences in the duration until remission among the low- and medium-risk patients. Of the 52 patients who received prophylactic chemotherapy, 8 (15.4%) developed PMTD. Among the high-risk patients the occurrence of PMTD was significantly lower in the prophylactic chemotherapy group. Among the low-risk and medium-risk patients, there were no differences in the occurrence of PMTD between the chemoprophylaxis treated and untreated groups. Our results strongly support the use of prophylactic chemotherapy for patients that were designed under our high risk criteria. Prophylactic chemotherapy helps to prevent or reduce the risk of developing PMTD, and shorten the time required for complete remission in high-risk patients.