Effect of Different Doses of Vitamin A on β-HCG Production in Patients Suffering from Gestational Trophoblastic Disease

Gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) is a type of disease which is characterized by increased production of B-HCG by placental cells. Increased β-HCG production is due to increased proliferation of beta cells and lack of apoptosis. If left untreated, it can lead to malignancy. Almost 30-50 of GTD progresses to gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) in women over 40 years old. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of vitamin A doses (100,000 IU and 200,000 IU) on the decrement of β-HCG levels.

The study included three groups: two patients and one control, and each group contained 22 individuals. Two groups of patients (A and B) received 100,000 IU and 200,000 IU doses of vitamin A, respectively, in addition to suction curettage. β-HCG levels were then measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA).

The β-HCG drop-in group B, which received 200,000 IU of vitamin A, was higher than that of group A. It was significant in the third and fourth weeks after the treatment compared to the control group. There was also a significant relationship between the three groups in terms of Gravid (P<0.001). All the patients were followed up for 6 months.

Considering that in the long run, the dose of 200,000 IU compared to the dose of 100,000 IU of vitamin A did not significantly reduce the B-HCG, therefore, in order to prevent the complications of high doses, the single dose of 100,000 IU was used for GTD patients.