Partial hydatidiform moles with unclear histopathological profile – importance of genetic diagnostics

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was the genetic characterization of a set of cases with an unclear morphological profi le of the placental tissue suspected of a partial hydatidiform mole. Patients and methods: This work presents the results of a genetic analysis of a group of 10 patients with various clinical manifestations of reproductive loss, where a partial hydatidiform mole was suspected on the basis of a histopathological examination. The composition of the genome of the products of conception was determined by short tandem repeats (STR) genotyping using a commercial kit “Devyser Compact v3 (Devyser)“. Results and conclusions: Out of 10 analyzed cases, five had diandricmonogynic triploid genome, characteristic for a partial mole. Aneuploidies of chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y were excluded in four cases and Patau's syndrome was diagnosed in one case. In the case of an unclear histopathological profile, consultative DNA analysis (ideally STR genotyping) can significantly help the pathologist in the differential diagnosis of a partial mole. The histopathological profile of a partial hydatidiform mole may be in some cases incomplete and unclear, especially in the early weeks of gestation, which can lead to false negativity of the examination. On the other hand, other pathologies, for example aneuploides or digynictriploidy, may produce a histopathological profile similar to a partial mole, which leads to false positivity. Accurate diagnosis of a partial hydatidiform mole using molecular genetic methods contributes to the determination of adequate dispensary care for patients. Key words: hydatidiform mole – microsatellite repeats – alleles – genotyping techniques