Is molar pregnancy a type of cancer?
If you have had a molar pregnancy, the majority of time the problem will disappear on its own and no further treatment is needed. A molar pregnancy on its own is not a form of cancer. For the approximately 10% of patients who have had a complete molar pregnancy and 1% of partial mole patients who go on to further treatment the situation is different. Whilst we generally do not do a further biopsy to prove it, one the hCG level is rising and the decision to start treatment is made we would regard these patients as having this very rare form of cancer. We refer to these patients as having persistent trophoblast disease/choriocarcinoma, this new situation is defined in the medical text books and by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a type of cancer. However the good news is that this type of cancer is completely different from the normal types of cancer in that the cure rate for patients developing this after a molar pregnancy is over 99%. For patients who have either choriocarcinoma
