Molar pregnancy and risk for cancer in women and their male partners

Byline: JA[cedilla]rgen H. Olsen, Lene Mellemkjaer, Gloria Gridley, Louise Brinton, Christoffer Johansen, Susanne Kruger Kjaer Keywords: Hydatidiform mole; maternal cancer; paternal cancer; gestational choriocarcinoma; cohort study Abstract: Objective: It was our aim to evaluate the hypothesis that molar pregnancy is a marker of increased risk for cancer. Study Design: This was a nationwide cohort study of 1520 women, identified from the Danish National Register of Patients, in whom a molar pregnancy was diagnosed during the period 1977-1992 and of 1295 male partners of these women, traced in the Danish Central Population Register. Results: Linkage of the female roster with the Danish Cancer Registry through 1994 revealed 19 cases of gestational choriocarcinoma, whereas 0.04 was expected from the rates for the general population. Twenty cases of cancers of other types were observed with 24.9 expected (standardized incidence ratio, 0.8; 95% confidence interval, 0.5-1.2), but no specific type of cancer other than gestational choriocarcinoma occurred at a rate significantly different from that expected. Among the 1295 male partners notified in the Central Population Register, a total of 22 cancers were observed with 21.9 expected (standardized incidence ratio, 1.0; 95% confidence interval, 0.7-1.5). Conclusion: Molar pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk for cancer other than gestational carcinoma. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999;181:630-4.) Author Affiliation: Copenhagen, Denmark, and Bethesda, Maryland Article History: Received 4 December 1998; Revised 17 March 1999; Accepted 9 April 1999 Article Note: (footnote) [star] From the Research Department II, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Danish Cancer Society,a and the Biostatistics Branchb and the Environmental Epidemiology Branch,c National Cancer Institute., [star][star] Supported in part by research grant MAO NO1-CP-85639-04 from the National Cancer Institute., a Reprint requests: JA[cedilla]rgen H. Olsen, MD, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Research Department II, Danish Cancer Society, Strandboulevarden 49, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark., aa 6/1/99217