Long-term outcome of patients with persistent low-level elevation of human chorionic gonadotrophin

The aim of this study was to investigate a series of patients with sustained low-level elevated human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) and explore the management of these patients.

A total of 47 patients with persistent low levels of hCG were selected for analysis between January 2002 and January 2014 at the Women's Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Data were retrospectively reviewed for patient characteristics, therapeutic strategies, and follow-ups. We compared the characteristics of patients who were and were not eventually considered to have malignancies.

Among the 47 patients, 17 with persistent low-level elevated hCG and no detectable lesions were considered to have no active malignancy. Fifteen of the 17 patients had hCG levels that returned to normal range by the end of follow-up, while the remaining two did not. The other 30 patients were eventually diagnosed as having active malignancies due to detected lesions or increasing elevation of hCG. A large proportion of these patients were diagnosed with placental site trophoblastic tumor or epithelioid trophoblastic tumor.

For patients with persistent low-level elevated hCG, frequent follow-up rather than any therapy is recommended. Treatment was considered effective and safe once diagnosis of active malignancy was confirmed.