Color Doppler energy and related quantitative analysis of gestational trophoblastic tumors.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the reliability of color Doppler energy (CDE) and a related quantitative analysis for detection and follow-up of uterine involvement in gestational trophoblastic tumor.


METHODS
CDE was performed in 19 patients with trophoblastic tumor, in 25 women in early pregnancy and 25 non-pregnant women. The blood flow area ratio (BFAR) in CDE was used as an index representing uterine involvement. In nine of the 19 patients, BFAR was measured before, during and at termination of chemotherapy.


RESULTS
The BFAR (mean +/- S.D.) of uterine profiles in 19 patients (39.9 +/- 1.3%) was significantly higher than that in 25 pregnant women (24.6 +/- 10.1%, P = 0.002) and in 25 non-pregnant women (14.8 +/- 5.7%, P = 0.001). In the follow-up of nine patients, when beta-hCG was less than 3.1 ng/ml during the treatment, the BFAR (38.7 +/- 11.9%) decreased below that (44.2 +/- 14.6%) seen prior to treatment (P = 0.009) and was much lower at termination of treatment (27.5 +/- 12.3%, P = 0.048).


CONCLUSIONS
These data support the use of CDE and the related quantitative analysis as a new method for detecting and follow-up of uterine involvement in patients with trophoblastic tumors.
Xie
H
H
Department of Ultrasound, First Affiliated Hospital of Sum Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences, Guangzhuo, China.
Hata
K
K
Lu
M
M
Kong
Q
Q
Miyazaki
K
K
D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D012016:Reference Values; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014328:Trophoblastic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D016216:Ultrasonography, Prenatal / Q000379:methods*; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D014599:Uterus / Q000098:blood supply*