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Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Isolation of Primary Mouse Trophoblast Cells and Trophoblast Invasion Assay
Published on: January 8, 2012
Diagnostic evaluation of metastatic placental site trophoblastic tumor
Tara Kelly1, Colette Alvis, Malak Abedalthagafi
1From the Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC.
Background:
Placental site trophoblastic tumor, a type of gestational trophoblastic disease, is a rare tumor composed of intermediate trophoblasts.
Case:
We report the case of a 47-year-old woman with 1 year of amenorrhea who presented with cough in the absence of gynecologic symptoms. She was found to have diffuse pulmonary metastases that were nonhypermetabolic on positron emission tomography (PET) scan. She was diagnosed with Stage 3 metastatic placental site trophoblastic tumor 12 years after her most recent pregnancy.
Conclusion:
Placental site trophoblastic tumor is an unusual malignancy that may present remotely from antecedent gestational events. The relatively slow growth rate of this tumor may explain the lack of PET findings in our case.
