Purpose: to determine the most efficient clinical and histopathological predictors of complete hydatidiform mole (CHM) after gestational trophoblastic tumors (GTT). Methods: a prospective clinical and histopathological study was performed on all patients with CHM treated at the University Hospital of Botucatu between 1990 and 1998. Preevacuation clinical evaluation allowed the classification of molar pregnancy into high risk and low risk CHM. The author analyzed the clinical predictors of GTT established by Goldstein et al.¹ and by other authors2--10. The histopathological evaluation included the confirmation of CHM diagnosis based on the criteria by Szulman and Surti11 and the understanding of risk factors for GTT by Ayhan et al.8. The clinical and histopathological predictors were correlated with the postmolar GTT. Results: ovarian cysts larger than 6 cm and uterus size larger than 16 cm were the most efficient clinical predictors of GTT in 65 patients with CHM. Trophoblastic proliferation, nuclear atypia, necrosis/hemorrhage, trophoblastic maturation, and the ratio cytotrophoblast to syncytiotrophoblast were not significant predictors of GTT. The correlation between the clinical and histopathological predictors for the development of GTT was not possible, as no histopathological parameter was significant. Conclusion: additional investigations could evaluate other predictors for persistent disease, and its usefulness in a clinical context. The sequential determination of plasmatic beta-hCG remains the only safe predictor for persistent disease.
Complete hydatidiform mole; Gestational trophoblastic disease; Chorionic gonadotrophins; Ovarian cysts
