Early detection is the key to treating a rare gynecologic tumor that can develop during pregnancy. Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) affects approximately one in 40,000 pregnancies, but while uncommon, it can occur in anyone after conception. “Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia is a set of trophoblastic cells that comes from a pregnancy,” says Christa Nagel, MD, a gynecologic oncologist at The Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center — James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. “Some of those cells can stick around and mutate, becoming malignant.” While anyone who becomes pregnant can develop GTN, there are some factors that can raise the risk of diagnosis. “Certain risk factors are ages greater than 40 or Asian or American Indian descent,” Nagel says. “The most common pregnancy that occurs before the diagnosis of GTN is a molar pregnancy, which is an abnormal pregnancy that would not go on to become a fetus or a baby.” Click here to learn more about gynecologic cancer, including risks, symptoms and treatment options at The Ohio State University. The good news for patients is that GTN is a very curable condition if caught early, so it’s important that any possible symptoms are immediately brought to the attention of health care professionals who can conduct timely screenings. “Most commonly, symptoms involve vaginal bleeding,” Nagel says. “Because of the implementation of ultrasound early in pregnancy, patients usually get diagnosed soon after they find out that they're pregnant.” Click here to learn about the wide variety of education and support programs provided to Ohio State cancer patients by the JamesCare for Life team. To raise the chances of successful treatment, Nagel advises that patients seek treatment at a hospital with experts who specialize in GTN, like the OSUCCC – James. “The best prognoses are in patients who are treated — who are evaluated, diagnosed quickly and started on chemotherapy quickly — by people who have a lot of expertise in treating this,” she says. “It's very curable with chemotherapy, which is great news given that these are usually young patients.” Click here to learn more about adolescent and young adult cancer care and research at the OSUCCC – James.