Gyn Onc Flashcards
What is gestational trophoblastic neoplasia?
a spectrum that includes all neoplasms derived from abnormal placental (trophoblastic) proliferation, most often a benign disease known as hydatidiform mole
What are the key clinical features of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia?
- clinical presentation as pregnancy
- reliable means of diagnosis by pathognomonic US findings
- a specific tumor marker known as hCG
What is the difference between gestational trophoblastic neoplasia and hydatidiform mole?
- GTN is a spectrum of neoplasms derived from abnormal placental proliferation which includes hydatidiform mole
- GTN can arise from pregnancy but most commonly follows a hydatidiform mole
What is a hydatidiform mole?
an abnormal proliferation of the syncytiotrophoblast and replacement of normal placental trophoblastic tissue by hydronic placental villi
Hydatidiform Mole
- an abnormal conception, which leads to abnormal proliferation of the syncytiotrophoblast and replacement of normal placental trophoblastic tissue by hydropic placental villi
- can be complete without identifiable embryonic structures, or partial with some identifiable embryonic tissue
- complete arise from fertilization of an empty ovum followed by reduplication of the haploid sperm; partial arise from fertilization of a normal ovum by two sperm
- presents as a pregnancy with a larger-than-expected uterus, exaggerated subjective symptoms of pregnancy, and painless second-trimester bleeding with passage of grape-like masses if not detected sooner
- fetal heart tones will be absent, US finds a characteristic “snow-storm” appearance without fetal parts, and B-hCG is excessively elevated
- elevated B-hCG may produce severe nausea and vomiting, hypertension, proteinuria, and clinical hyperthyroidism due to activation of TSH receptors
- treatment is suction curettage; give Rhgam at the time of uterine evacuation and begin contraception to prevent intercurrent pregnancy
- patients then require subsequent monitoring of B-hCG to ensure adequate removal, first at 48 hours, then every 1-2 weeks while elevated, and 1-2 months thereafter
- complete more than partial, poses a risk for choriocarcinoma
What is the difference between a complete and partial hydatidiform mole? How do the two differ in their genesis and karyotype?
- partial are those with some identifiable embryonic structures while complete have none
- partial are triploid with one haploid set of maternal chromosomes and two haploid sets of paternal chromosomes due to dispermic fertilization of a normal ovum
- complete are diploid, typically 46,XX, and are entirely of paternal origin since they result from fertilization of a blighted ovum by a haploid sperm that replicates
Compare and contrast complete and partial hydatidiform moles.
- complete have no embryonic tissue while partial have some identifiable embryonic structures
- complete are diploid due to fertilization of an empty ovum by a haploid sperm that reduplicates while partial are triploid due to dispermic fertilization of a normal ovum
- complete have diffuse and more severe trophoblastic proliferation and hydropic villi while proliferation is more focal and mild in partial
- complete are usually diagnosed as a molar gestation while partial are more likely to present as a missed aborption
- clinically, complete usually have a much larger uterus than expected, co-occur with theca-lutein cysts, and carry a greater risk of malignancy
Pregnancy with severe hypertension prior to 20 weeks gestation is highly suggestive of what?
molar pregnancy since the elevated B-hCG is likely to activate TSH receptors and present clinically as hyperthroidism
How are gestational trophoblastic neoplasias classified?
- there are benign forms with hydatidiform moles being the most common and being divided into partial and complete
- there are malignant forms, including persistent non-metastatic GTN and metastatic GTN
What is persistent gestational trophoblastic neoplasia?
a malignant form of GTN which follows any sort of pregnancy and is diagnosed when B-hCG levels do not fall appropriately after these pregnancies
What is an invasive mole?
a complete mole that invades the myometrium without any intervening endometrial stroma as seen on a histologic sample
Choriocarcinoma
- a malignant germ cell tumor composed of cyto- and syncytiotrophoblasts
- mimics placental tissue but villi are absent
- it spreads via the hematogenous route early (makes sense because the usual function of trophoblasts is to establish fetal blood flow) and goes to the lungs
- high B-hCG is characteristic and may lead to theca lutein cysts in the ovary or hyperthyroidism (since the a subunit of B-hCG resembles that of FSH, LH, and TSH)
- it arises as a complication of gestation (following hydatidiform mole, normal pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy spontaneous abortion, etc.) or as a spontaneous germ cell tumor
- when it arises from the gestational pathway it tends to respond well to chemotherapy; but those that arise spontaneously do not
What should be done if abnormal bleeding continues for more than 6 weeks after pregnancy?
patient should be evaluated with hCG levels to exclude a new pregnancy or gestational trophoblastic neoplasia
What is nonmetastatic persistent GTN and how is it treated?
- it is a persistence of GTN following any sort of pregnancy, which is malignant but not yet metastatic
- treated with single-agent chemotherapy such as MTX or actinomycin D
How is metastatic GTN classified?
- it is divided into good- and poor-prognosis disease
- a short interval from the antecedent pregnancy (less than 4 months), pretherapy hCG levels less than 40,000, no brain or liver metastases, no antecedent term pregnancy, and no prior chemotherapy are all indicative of good prognosis
Which HPV types are low-risk and which are high-risk?
- low-risk are 6 and 11
- high-risk are 16, 18, 31, and 33
Low-risk HPV is associated with what diseases?
condylomata acuminata, aka genital warts, and with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs)
What are the internal and external cervical os?
- the internal os is the upper part of the cervix that opens into the endometrial cavity
- the external os is the lower part that opens into the vagina
What is the ectocervix and what is the endocervix?
- the ectocervix is the exterior portion of the cervical canal
- the endocervix is the interior cervical canal
Describe the cervical epithelium.
- the ectocervix is lined by stratified, non-keratinizing squamous epithelium
- the endocervix is lined by a columnar epithelium
- the squamocolumnar junction is where the two different epithelia meet
What is the clinical significance of the squamocolumnar junction?
it is where the epithelium of the ectocervix and endocervix meet and is clinically important because it is where almost all cervical neoplasias arise
Where is the squamocolumnar junction of the cervix located?
- during childhood, the SCJ is located just inside the external os
- during puberty, hormones and acidification cause a metaplasia that causes the SCJ to evert to a position on the enlarged cervical surface
- this metaplasia is known as transformation zone and the area between the original SCJ and new SCJ is known as the transformation zone
- during perimenopause, the new SCJ recedes upward into the endocervical canal, out of direct visual contact
What is the transformation zone of the cervix?
it is the area between the original squamocolumnar junction just inside the external os and the active squamoucolumnar junction which changes throughout reproductive life
What is a nabothian cyst?
- a benign cyst that arises from the normal metaplasia within the transformation zone of the cervix
- during this metaplasia, glands within the columnar epithelium may become trapped by squamous epithelium, forming the cyst