Women with gestational trophoblastic disease often show some of the following signs:
- Vaginal bleeding during the first trimester of pregnancy
- Uterine size larger than expected for the length of pregnancy
- Severe nausea and vomiting
More rarely, women with advanced GTD may have severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, or headache/dizziness.
There are risk factors that are known to be associated with an increased likelihood of developing GTD. These include:
- Prior molar pregnancy
- Maternal age (both adolescents and women over the age of 40 years)
There are other risk factors reported to increase the chance of developing molar pregnancies, but are not as well defined; these may include women of Southeast Asia, blood type, and nutritional factors (such as deficiencies in protein or animal fat, and fat-soluble carotene).