A Well-Circumscribed Border with Peripheral Doppler Signal in Sonographic Image Distinguishes Epithelioid Trophoblastic Tumor from Other Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasms

As epithelioid trophoblastic tumor (ETT) shares similar clinical features with other gestational trophoblastic neoplasms (GTNs), it is likely to be clinically misdiagnosed and subsequently treated in an improper way. This study aimed to identify the sonographic features of ETT that are distinct from other GTNs, including placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) and invasive mole/choriocarcinoma (IM/CC). Here, we retrospectively analyzed ultrasound images of 12 patients with ETT in comparison with those of 21 patients with PSTT and 24 patients with IM/CC. The results showed that maximal diameter and hemodynamic parameters were not significantly different among ETT, PSTT and IM/CC (P>0.05). However, a well-circumscribed border with hypoechogenic halo was identified in the gray-scale sonogram in all 12 cases of ETT, while only in 1 out of 21 cases of PSTT and 1 out of 16 cases of IM/CC (P