Read article Gestational trophoblastic tumour research
This page tells you about research into gestational trophoblastic tumours (GTT for short). There is information about
Molar pregnancy and gestational trophoblastic tumour research
All treatments must be fully researched before they can be adopted as standard treatment for everyone. This is so that we can be sure they work better than the treatments we already use. And so we know that they are safe.
First of all, treatments are developed and tested in laboratories. Only after we know that they are likely to be safe are they tested in people, in clinical trials.
Treatment for molar pregnancy and other types of gestational trophoblastic tumour (GTT) is generally very successful. But doctors are still testing better ways of preventing, diagnosing and treating them.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the treating molar pregnancy section.
All treatments have to be fully researched before they can be adopted as standard treatment for everyone. This is so that
- We can be sure they work
- We can be sure they work better than the treatments that are available at the moment
- They are known to be safe
Firstly, treatments are developed and tested in laboratories. For ethical and safety reasons, experimental treatments must be tested in the laboratory before they can be tried in patients. If a treatment described here is said to be at the laboratory stage of research, it is not ready for patients and is not available either within or outside the NHS.
Tests in patients are called clinical trials. The trials and research section has information about what trials are, including details about the 4 phases of clinical trials. If you are interested in taking part in a trial, visit our searchable database of clinical trials. If you are interested in a particular trial, print the information off and take it to your own specialist. If the trial is suitable for you, your doctor will need to make the referral to the research team. The database also has information about closed trials and trial results.
All the new approaches covered here are the subject of ongoing research. Until studies are completed and new effective treatments are found, these potential new treatments aren’t part of standard therapy for gestational trophoblastic tumours (GTT).
Doctors want to find out more about why GTT develops. In most women who have a molar pregnancy there is no known cause. In women who have had several molar pregnancies, researchers are looking to see if there is any genetic reason for this.
Doctors diagnose and follow up women with GTT by checking the level of hCG in their blood and urine. We already know that the hCG for women with GTT is different to that produced in a normal pregnancy. Recently, researchers have started to look for even more subtle differences in hCG to help them know which women are most likely to need treatment.
Treatment for GTT is very successful and more than 98% of women with these conditions are cured. At present there are no clinical trials in the UK looking at GTTs. This is mainly because they are such rare tumours and current treatments work so well. In 2013 a new study will compare different combinations of chemotherapy drugs for women with tumours that don't respond completely to the current standard therapies.
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