Gestational trophoblastic disease among Hispanic women: a 21-year hospital-based study

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the United States. Few reports have described gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) in this population. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of GTD at our public hospital which primarily serves the Hispanic population.

All women diagnosed with GTD (partial and complete hydatidiform mole, choriocarcinoma) between 1983 and 2004 were identified from the institutional tumor registry, surgical pathology reports and hospital ICD-9 codes. Clinical data were retrospectively extracted from medical records. The live birth denominator was tabulated over the same interval of time by retrieving labor and delivery statistics and sorting by race.

GTD was diagnosed in 596 patients over a 21-year study interval encompassing 289,897 live births. The overall incidence of GTD was 2.06/1000 live births. Hispanic women had a higher incidence compared to Blacks (2.38 vs. 1.34; P < 0.001), but not Whites (2.00; P = 0.17). The 416 Hispanic women were diagnosed with GTD at an earlier gestational age in the latter part of this study (12.3 vs. 16.2 weeks; P < 0.001). Hispanics were more likely to have a partial hydatidiform mole compared to Blacks (29% vs. 13%; P < 0.001) and Whites (18%; P = 0.04). Choriocarcinomas occurred least commonly in Hispanic patients (1 per 35,000 live births). Teenage Hispanic women were the only ethnic age group with a higher risk of developing GTD (odds ratio = 1.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.1, 2.2).

Hispanic women had the highest incidence of GTD in this hospital-based study, were diagnosed at an earlier gestational age in the last decade and more frequently were diagnosed with partial moles.