Imaging
Choriocarcinoma/Molar Pregnancy
- Preliminary Diagnosis: Choriocarcinoma/Molar Preganancy
-
I. What imaging technique is first-line for this diagnosis?
- II. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this technique for diagnosis of choriocarcinoma/molar pregnancy.
-
III. What are the contraindications for the first-line imaging technique?
-
IV. What alternative imaging techniques are available?
- V. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative techniques for diagnosis of choriocarcinoma/molar pregnancy.
- VI. What are the contraindications for the alternative imaging techniques?
Preliminary Diagnosis: Choriocarcinoma/Molar Preganancy
I. What imaging technique is first-line for this diagnosis?
Ultrasound with Doppler interrogation
II. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this technique for diagnosis of choriocarcinoma/molar pregnancy.
Advantages
Quick
Inexpensive
Fairly specific and sensitive
Requires no ionizing radiation
Disadvantages
Difficult to assess for extrauterine and extrapelvic metastases
Not as specific as MRI
III. What are the contraindications for the first-line imaging technique?
No contraindications
IV. What alternative imaging techniques are available?
MRI with and without contrast
CT of the abdomen and pelvis with and without contrast
V. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of the alternative techniques for diagnosis of choriocarcinoma/molar pregnancy.
MRI with and without contrast
Advantages
Better demonstrates the boundaries of myometrium and tumor than does CT
Requires no ionizing radiation
Disadvantages
Expensive
Time consuming
Requires significant patient cooperation to minimize motion artifact
CT of the abdomen and pelvis with and without contrast
Advantages
Sensitive and specific for diagnosis
Quick
Less expensive than MRI
Disadvantages
Exposure to ionizing radiation
Exposure to iodinated contrast
VI. What are the contraindications for the alternative imaging techniques?
MRI with and without contrast
Absolute contraindication is non-MR-compatible hardware.
CT of the abdomen and pelvis with and without contrast
Relative contraindication during pregnancy
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