ABSTRACT
These factors are used to classify the patients into low, medium and high risk. Chemotherapy and prognosis is then based on this classification.
The patient’s age is an important prognostic factor. Women over the age of 39 years are of a higher risk than younger women. The antecedent pregnancy is one of the most important prognostic risk factors. The prognosis of choriocarcinoma after a normal pregnancy is worse than that following a miscarriage and this, in turn, is worse than that after a hydatidiform mole. Since intensive monitoring is often initiated only after a molar pregnancy, progression to choriocarcinoma is most likely to be identified early. However, after a normal delivery, there is usually no follow-up and the diagnosis of choriocarcinoma is therefore unlikely to be made until after a prolonged interval when secondaries might have developed.
