β-human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) level is not a reliable marker for early identification of persistent gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) after evacuation of hydatidiform mole. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate β-HCG regression after evacuation as a predictive factor of malignant GTN in complete molar pregnancy. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated a total of 260 patients with complete molar pregnancy. Sixteen of the 260 patients were excluded. Serum levels of HCG were measured in all patients before treatment and after evacuation. HCG level was measured weekly until it reached a level lower than 5？mIU/mL. Results. The only predictors of persistent GTN are HCG levels one and two weeks after evacuation. The cut-off point for the preevacuation HCG level was 6000？mIU/mL (area under the curve, AUC, 0.58; sensitivity, 38.53%; specificity, 77.4%), whereas cut-off points for HCG levels one and two weeks after evacuation were 6288？mIU/mL (AUC, 0.63; sensitivity, 50.46%; specificity, 77.0%) and 801？mIU/mL (AUC, 0.80; sensitivity, 79.82%; specificity, 71.64%), respectively. Conclusion. The rate of decrease of HCG level at two weeks after surgical evacuation is the most reliable and strongest predictive factor for the progression of molar pregnancies to persistent GTN. 1. Introduction Persistent gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) includes hydatidiform mole, invasive mole, choriocarcinoma, and placental site tumor derived from the placenta; persistent GTN is a curable disease but can develop into a life-threatening malignancy [1–3]. Dilation-curettage and chemotherapy are suitable treatments for low-risk GTN [4, 5]. Postmolar GTN is defined by clinical and laboratory criteria. Persistent GTN specifically refers to GTNs with potential for tissue invasion and metastasis. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is a glycoprotein hormone comprising two subunits, alpha and beta, and is an important index for pregnancy and gestational trophoblastic disease [6, 7]. Serial evaluation of HCG can be used for diagnosis of normal and abnormal pregnancies [6, 8–11]. A comprehensive study was performed to identify predictive factors in progressive normal pregnancy, molar pregnancy, and invasive mole to malignant disease. The risk factors that cannot strongly predict persistent GTN include the following: age, age of pregnancy, positive past medical history of molar pregnancy, HCG titer of more than 100,000, and theca lutein cyst > 6？cm [12–14]. A reliable marker for early identification of persistent GTN after evacuation of hydatidiform mole
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