Imaging in gestational trophoblastic disease

Publication date: Available online 5 March 2019Source: Seminars in Ultrasound, CT and MRIAuthor(s): Lawrence Hsu Lin, Rodrigo Polizio, Koji Fushida, Rossana Pulcineli Vieira FranciscoAbstractGestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) is a spectrum of disorders characterized by abnormal trophoblastic proliferation. GTD includes benign conditions such as hydatidiform moles and malignant diseases that are referred as gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN). Ultrasound plays a central role in the diagnosis of patients with hydatidiform mole. Other imaging modalities are useful in molar pregnancy, mainly for evaluating pulmonary complications and atypical presentation of hydatidiform mole. GTN typically arises after 20% of molar pregnancies but can uncommonly occur after nonmolar gestations. After uterine evacuation, serial human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels are evaluated in patients for early detection of GTN. Once GTN is suspected, Doppler ultrasound is the primary tool to confirm the diagnosis; however, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can also help in selected cases. Metastatic disease workup can involve various modalities, including ultrasound, X-ray, computed tomography (CT), MRI and positron emission tomography/CT (PET/CT). In this article, we review the main imaging modalities used to evaluate patients with GTD.
Source: Seminars in Ultrasound, CT and MRI - Category: Radiology Source Type: research