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Is the human chorionic gonadotropin secreted by ectopic trophoblast different from that in normal intrauterine
Objective:
To determine whether different isoforms of hCG are secreted by trophoblast tissue from ectopic pregnancy (EP).
Design:
Retrospective study of surgically confirmed EPs compared with normal pregnancies.
Setting:
Teaching hospital in South Africa.
Patients:
One hundred patients with EPs and 120 patients with normal pregnancies.
Main Outcome Measures:
Isoforms of hCG were measured by specific immunoassays, lectin binding, and examination of disappearance rates of hCG after surgical clearance of EP.
Results:
There were no obvious differences between the two types of pregnancy apart from a lower binding of beta-subunit immunoactivity to ricin 120. No clinically useful diagnostic measures to distinguish hCG from normal and EPs were found.
Conclusions:
No obvious differences were found in the isoforms of hCG between the two types of pregnancy using these methods.