Is the human chorionic gonadotrophin secreted by ectopic trophoblast different from that in normal intrauterine pregnancies?

Abstract

<h4>Objective</h4>To determine whether different isoforms of hCG are secreted by trophoblast tissue from ectopic pregnancy (EP).<h4>Design</h4>Retrospective study of surgically confirmed EPs compared with normal pregnancies.<h4>Setting</h4>Teaching hospital in South Africa.<h4>Patients</h4>One hundred patients with EPs and 120 patients with normal pregnancies.<h4>Main outcome measures</h4>Isoforms of hCG were measured by specific immunoassays, lectin binding, and examination of disappearance rates of hCG after surgical clearance of EP.<h4>Results</h4>There were no obvious differences between the two types of pregnancy apart from a lower binding of beta-subunit immunoactivity to ricin 120. No clinically useful diagnostic measures to distinguish hCG from normal and EPs were found.<h4>Conclusions</h4>No obvious differences were found in the isoforms of hCG between the two types of pregnancy using these methods.