Placental site trophoblastic tumor: A study of 55 cases and review of the literature emphasizing factors of prognostic significance.
OBJECTIVE
The placental site trophoblastic tumor is a rare form of gestational trophoblastic disease. Fifteen percent of reported cases have been fatal, but predicting behavior in individual patients has been challenging.


METHODS
The clinical, gross and histopathological features of 55 cases and 180 cases in the literature were analyzed for their effect on survival and in relation to tumor stage.


RESULTS
The 55 patients in our series were 20 to 62 (average 32) years of age. The tumors occurred on an average of 34 months after the last known gestation. 84% were stage I, 2% stage II, 5% stage III, and 9% stage IV. Serum levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were elevated (average 691 mIU/ml) in 77% of the cases. The tumors were on average 5 cm in greatest dimension and were composed microscopically of infiltrative sheets of intermediate (extravillous) trophoblastic cells. The mitotic rate ranged from 0 to 20 (average 5.0) per 10 high power fields. The follow-up interval averaged 4.6 years. Eight patients (15%) died from metastatic tumor, and nine additional patients had metastases or a recurrence but were alive at last contact. The most common metastatic sites were the lungs, liver, and vagina.


CONCLUSIONS
Significant factors associated with adverse survival in the present series were age over 35 years (P = 0.025), interval since the last pregnancy of over 2 years (P = 0.014), deep myometrial invasion (P = 0.006), stage III or IV (P < 0.0005), maximum hCG level > 1000 mIU/ml (P = 0.034), extensive coagulative necrosis (P = 0.024), high mitotic rate (P = 0.005), and the presence of cells with clear cytoplasm (P < 0.0005). Only stage and clear cytoplasm were independent predictors of overall survival, while stage and age were the only independent predictors of time to recurrence or disease-free survival. In the literature, factors associated with survival were stage (P < 0.005), interval from preceding pregnancy of over 2 years (P = 0.029), previous term pregnancy (P = 0.046), high mitotic rate (P < 0.0005), and high hCG level (P = 0.037).
Baergen
Rebecca N
RN
New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, 520 East 70th Street, Starr 1002, New York, NY 10021, USA. rbaergen@med.cornell.edu
Rutgers
Joanne L
JL
Young
Robert H
RH
Osann
Kathryn
K
Scully
Robert E
RE
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D018245:Trophoblastic Tumor, Placental Site / Q000473:pathology*; D014594:Uterine Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*