Immunohistochemical Demonstration of Intermediate Trophoblasts for Differential Diagnosis of Uterine and Ectopic Pregnancy

Abstract

Objective: The objective in the study was to detect theintermediate trophoblastic cells and to differentiate theabortion from ectopic pregnancy by usingimmunohistochemical methods.Method: Four groups of patients were included in thestudy, and the archival materials of the patients wereused for immunohistochemistry. Group 1 comprisedof 10 patients who had miscarriages between the 5thand 12th weeks of gestation. There were 5 non pregnantpatients in group 2. In group 3, there were 64 patientswho had ectopic pregnancy between the 5th and 12thweeks of gestation. Group 4 comprised of 50 patientswho were clinically suspected of miscarriage withoutchorionic villi, and cyto and syncytiotrophoblast.Results: All trophoblastic cells of chorionic villi showedstrong positivity for sitokeratin in group 1 though thiswas not the condition in group 2 and 3. In group 4,however, 35 of 50 patients had intermediate trophoblastcells as detected by cytokeratin staining.Conclusion: The use of these hormone markers inendometrial specimens increases precision in thediagnosis of intrauterine versus ectopic pregnancy.Key words: Trophoblast, immunohistochemistry, ectopicpregnancy