The roles of surgery and EMA/CO chemotherapy regimen in primary refractory and non-refractory gestational trophoblastic neoplasia.

PURPOSE

To determine the characteristics and outcome of patients with refractory gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) after primary chemotherapy (CTx).

METHODS

The outcome of low- and high-risk patients with refractory GTN (n = 14, 37%) was compared to those with non-refractory GTN (n = 24, 63%). Methotrexate treatment was used for patients with low-risk disease and EMA/CO for patients with high-risk disease.

RESULTS

Median follow-up time was 53 months (range 1-173 months). All non-refractory patients and 11 refractory patients (79%) survived (p = 0.015). Factors related to resistance to primary CTx was age (p = 0.012), duration between causal pregnancy and initial treatment (p = 0.003), surgery (p = 0.014), hCG level before CTx (p = 0.09) and half-life of hCG (p = 0.061). Six out of 10 low-risk refractory patients treated with EMA/CO regimen in the second-line setting had been followed by no evidence of disease. Nine of 38 (24%) patients underwent surgery (TAH ± BSO) for GTN. All of the patients treated with surgery were in the non-refractory group, but none of refractory patients underwent surgery (p = 0.014).

CONCLUSIONS

Surgery and EMA/CO regimen are one of the main factors that play a role in the management of refractory low-risk GTN.