Gestational trophoblastic diseases in Turkey

To evaluate epidemiological data, staging, prognostic scoring system and immunohistochemical reports as well as the management and outcome of hydatidiform mole (HM) in Turkey.

All published data in the Turkish literature from 1932-2011 were evaluated retrospectively.

The incidence of HM was 0.3-16 per 1,000 pregnancies and 1.0-24.5 per 1,000 deliveries. Of a total number of 929,323 pregnancies during a 68-year period, 2,227 HM cases were encountered, to give an average incidence of 2.39 per 1,000 pregnancies and 1.87 per 1,000 deliveries. Although there were big differences in reported incidences, the overall incidence is also very high, and the main reason for the differences was thought to be related to the origin of the studies: all were hospital based. An epidemiological field study of HM in the rural part of Turkey identified 4 HM cases and 6,274 pregnancies in 2,032 women aged 15-49. The frequency of HM per 1,000 live births and per 1,000 pregnancies was 0.8 and 0.6, respectively.

Multicenter, community-based studies are needed to present the real incidence, and it is vital that women with gestational trophoblastic disease be followed by a multidisciplinary team, and ideally in trophoblastic disease centers and national case registry systems for gestational trophoblastic disease.