Placental growth factor levels can diagnose ectopic pregnancy

A study by Horne et al. from the University of Edinburgh in the UK found that the level of placental growth factor is related to angiogenesis after embryo implantation, and related tests may help diagnose ectopic pregnancy.

Researchers pointed out that tubal ectopic pregnancy is not uncommon, accounting for 1%-2% of all pregnancies in developed countries. It is generally diagnosed based on transvaginal ultrasound and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) levels. The diagnosis of some patients is difficult, and less than half of them are diagnosed at the first visit. Establishing a vascular support network is a major feature of successful embryo implantation in the uterus, and the former is related to the activity of placental growth factor. Therefore, researchers speculate that placental growth factor testing can provide clues for the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy.

The researchers enrolled 40 pregnant women of similar gestational age, aged 18 to 45 years, of whom 15 had surgical termination of viable intrauterine pregnancy, 10 underwent surgery due to miscarriage (unviable intrauterine pregnancy), and the remaining 15 had surgical termination of tubal pregnancy. Embryonic trophoblast tissue was collected from some patients and blood samples from all patients.

The results showed that placental growth factor was expressed in both viable and inviable intrauterine pregnancy trophoblasts, but not in tubal pregnancy trophoblasts (P < 0.05). The results of blood tests were similar: placental growth factor was not detected in the serum of patients with tubal pregnancy, the expression level was reduced or undetectable in the serum of patients with inviable intrauterine pregnancy, and it was highly expressed in the serum of patients with viable intrauterine pregnancy (P < 0.01). The blood HCG levels of patients with tubal pregnancy and those with inviable intrauterine pregnancy were similar, and the detection of placental growth factor could distinguish the two.