Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2007 Mar 12;96(5):732-7.
doi: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6603608. Epub 2007 Feb 13.

A comparison of patients with relapsed and chemo-refractory gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

T Powles  1 , P M Savage, J Stebbing, D Short, A Young, M Bower, C Pappin, P Schmid, M J Seckl
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A comparison of patients with relapsed and chemo-refractory gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

T Powles et al. Br J Cancer. .

Abstract

The majority of women requiring chemotherapy for gestational trophoblastic disease (GTN) are cured with their initial chemotherapy treatment. However, a small percentage either become refractory to treatment, or relapse after the completion of treatment. This study investigates the characteristics and outcome of these patients. Patients were identified from the Charing Cross Hospital GTD database. The outcome of these patients with relapsed disease was compared to those with refractory disease. Between 1980 and 2004, 1708 patients were treated with chemotherapy for GTN. Sixty (3.5%) patents relapsed following completion of initial therapy. The overall 5-year survival for patients with relapsed GTN was 93% (95% CI 86-100%). The overall survival for patients with low-risk and high-risk disease at presentation, who subsequently relapsed was 100% (n=35), and 84% (n=25) (95% CI: 66-96%: P<0.05), respectively. Eleven patients were identified who failed to enter remission and had refractory disease. These patients had a worse outcome compared to patients with relapsed disease (5-year survival 43% (95% CI:12-73% P<0.01)). The outcome of patients with relapsed GTN is good. However, patients with primary chemo-refractory disease do poorly and novel therapies are required for this group of patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Origin of patients with relapsed or refractory GTN.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Outcome of patients who relapsed after high-risk treatment vs refractory (progression on initial high-risk chemotherapy).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bagshawe KD (1976) Risk and prognostic factors in trophoblastic neoplasia. Cancer 3: 1373–1385 - PubMed
    1. Bower M, Newlands ES, Holden L, Short D, Brock C, Rustin GJ, Begent RH, Bagshawe KD (1997) EMA/CO for high-risk gestational trophoblastic tumors: results from a cohort of 272 patients. J Clin Oncol 15: 2636–2643; Erratum in: J Clin Oncol 1997 September;15(9):3168. - PubMed
    1. Dobson LS, Lorigan PC, Coleman RE, Hancock BW (2000) Persistent gestational trophoblastic disease: results of MEA (methotrexate, etoposide and dactinomycin) as first-line chemotherapy in high risk disease and EA (etoposide and dactinomycin) as second-line therapy for low risk disease. Br J Cancer 82: 1547–1552 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Farhat F, Culine S, Theodore C, Bekradda M, Terrier-Lacombe MJ, Droz JP (1996) Cisplatin and ifosfamide with either vinblastine or etoposide as salvage therapy for refractory or relapsing germ cell tumor patients: the Institut Gustave Roussy experience. Cancer 77: 1193–1197 - PubMed
    1. Fossa SD, Waehre H, Paus E (1992) The prognostic significance of prostate specific antigen in metastatic hormone-resistant prostate cancer. Br J Cancer 66: 181–184 - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances