the gestational trophoblastic diseases: a ten year retrospective study

background: gestational trophoblastic disease (gtd) defines a heterogenenous group of interrelated lesions that arise from the trophoblastic epithelium of the placenta. there are several histologically distinct types of gtd: hydatiform mole (complete or partial), persistant/invasive gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (gtn), choriocarcinoma and placenta site trophoblastic tumors. the aim of this study was to determine the frequency and risk factors of gtd among women admitted to imam khomeini hospital in ahvaz, iran. materials and methods: this was a cross-sectional study conducted at imam khomeini hospital in ahvaz, iran. all hospital records related to gtd (132) from 1996 until 2006 were reviewed. demographic and histo-pathologic characteristics were extracted. chi-square and fisher-exact tests were used to analyze all variables. p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. spss, version 11 was used for statistical analysis. results: the mean age of patients was 27.6 years. most patients who presented with gtd were of ages 18-35 years (71.3%). there was no relationship between age and hydatiform mole during the reproductive years. there were 28 (18.9%) patients over the age 40, of which 18 (15.90%) of these had a complete hydatiform mole. within this group, 9 (6.8%) changed to a persistent mole. there was a significant relationship between age over 40 and complete mole (p<0.02). the percentage of patients with blood groups a and o was the same (37.9%). there was a significant relationship between blood groups (o+ and a+) and complete mole (p<0.05). conclusion: the most common age range for hydatiform mole was 18-35 years. women over the age of 40 had a more complete hydatiform mole, which is similar to the other countries. age and blood group are two risk factors for hydatiform mole.