Current status of treatment of gestational trophoblastic disease

A brief summary is given of the developments leading to the current status of treatment of gestational trophoblastic neoplasms, both nonmetastatic and metastatic. Hydatidiform mole has been identified as the precursor type of pregnancy in approximately 50% of those women developing metastatic disease. The other half developed this as consequences of either a full-term delivery or some type of abortion. Sensitive assays for human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) are needed in the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of these patients. Current therapy is outlined: nonmetastatic disease receives single agent chemotherapy with methotrexate or actinomycin D, with approximately 100% cure and 90% retention of reproductive function; metastatic disease, "low risk", receives single agent chemotherapy with the same drugs, with an expected cure rate of 95-100%; metastatic disease, "high risk", receives initial therapy with multiple agent chemotherapy, with a cure rate of approximately 75%. Current unresolved questions are discussed briefly.