Pelvic angiography in malignant trophoblastic disease

Pelvic angiography was analyzed in 24 patients with malignant trophoblastic disease. Abnormal findings such as prominent uterine arteries, hypervascularity of the uterus, arteriovenous shunts, tumor staining and pooling were observed. Translucency was observed in all patients with choriocarcinoma. This finding was observed in only 3 of 11 patients (27.3%) with invasive mole and was not apparent in patients with an undetermined group. These differences were statistically significant. Translucency of pelvic angiography in malignant trophoblastic disease was more suggestive of choriocarcinoma than of invasive mole. Thus, translucency in pelvic angiography may be a distinctive finding with which to differentiate choriocarcinoma from invasive mole, without resection of the uterus.