Hydatidiform mole

[Gregory]

A hydatidiform mole is growth of an abnormal fertilized egg or an overgrowth of tissue from the placenta.

Women appear to be pregnant, but the uterus enlarges much more rapidly than in a normal pregnancy.
Most women have severe nausea and vomiting, vaginal bleeding, and very high blood pressure.
Ultrasonography, blood tests to measure human chorionic gonadotropin (which is produced early during pregnancy), and a biopsy are done.
Moles are removed using dilation and curettage (D and C) with suction.
If the disorder persists, chemotherapy is needed.

(See also Overview of Female Reproductive System Cancers.)
Most often, a hydatidiform mole is an abnormal fertilized egg that develops into a hydatidiform mole rather than a fetus (a condition called molar pregnancy). However, a hydatidiform mole can develop from cells that remain in the uterus after a miscarriage, a full-term pregnancy, or a mislocated pregnancy (ectopic pregnancy). Rarely, a hydatidiform mole develops when there is a living fetus. In such cases, the fetus typically dies, and a miscarriage often occurs.
Hydatidiform moles are most common among women under 17 or over 35. In the United States, they occur in about 1 in 2,000 pregnancies. For unknown reasons, hydatidiform moles are almost 10 times more common in Asian countries.
Hydatidiform moles are a type of gestational trophoblastic disease.