Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2001 Mar;44(3):616-620.

A case of placental site trophoblastic tumor

• Kang KH
• Lee SK
• Hur H
• Yang MH

Abstract

Placental site trophoblstic tumor(PSTT) is a rare variant of trophoblastic disease. This type of trophoblastic tumor apparently exhibits different biologic behaviors as compared with choriocarcinoma. Diagnosis is made by finding a predominance of intermediate trophoblasts and absence of fetal tissue in the dilatation and currettage specimens. The intermediate trophoblastic cells produce relatively little beta-hCG and hPL and unlike other trophoblastic tumors, they are frequently resistant to chemotherapy1. But patients with metastasis frequently exhibit a progression of disease and die despite of aggressive multiagent chemotherapy. We report a case of PSTT, in which a 36-year-old woman presented with vaginal bleeding after D&CB at 14 weeks of pregnancy. Despite of blood transfusion, the patient was under shock state, and hysterectomy was done. After hysterectomy, the pathological diagnosis was PSTT confirmed by immunohistochemical study, and the result was strong positive for hPL & cytokeratin but weak positve for beta-hCG2.

Keyword

PSTT; Choriocarcinoma; Intermediate trophoblastic cells

MeSH Terms

Adult
Blood Transfusion
Choriocarcinoma
Diagnosis
Dilatation
Drug Therapy
Female
Fetus
Humans
Hysterectomy
Keratins
Neoplasm Metastasis
Pregnancy
Shock
Trophoblastic Neoplasms
Trophoblastic Tumor, Placental Site*
Trophoblasts
Uterine Hemorrhage
Keratins