Molar Pregnancy Treatment
The results of diagnostic tests will help determine a treatment plan. Treatment options often include surgery to remove the tumor. The more aggressive types of molar pregnancies may require chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. About 85% of hydatidiform moles can be treated without chemotherapy. Treatment may include:
- Dilation and suction curettage (D & C): This is a surgical procedure used to remove noncancerous hydatidiform moles. It expands the opening of the cervix and scraping (curettage) the lining of the uterus by suction to clean and with another instrument like a spoon.
- Removal of the uterus (hysterectomy): this is used rarely to treat hydatidiform moles and could perform this procedure if the woman does not want to get pregnant.
- Chemotherapy with a single drug chemotherapy, this treatment with medication toxic to the molar tissue is used to treat a molar pregnancy tumor that has features suggesting a good prognosis.
- Chemotherapy with multiple drugs quimioterepéuticos: treatment with multiple medications, all toxic to the molar tissue is usually necessary to treat invasive tumors with poorer prognosis.
- Radiation therapy used x-ray beams to destroy the most powerful cancer cells in the very rare case of tumor spread (metastasized) to the brain.