aetiology
Last reviewed 07/2021
Factors associated with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia include:
- previous molar pregnancy - increases risk 40 fold
- age - more common among mothers less than 20 and older than 40 years (overall is more common in older women); attributed to defective fertilisation
- racial origin - more common among Asian and Taiwanese mothers than Caucasian
- diet - higher incidence in areas with low consumption of folic acid and beta carotene
- immunologic - certain combinations of maternal and paternal HLA alleles, especially when similar, may be contributory factors