Gestational trophoblastic tumours (GTT)

Gestational trophoblastic tumours (GTT) are very rare tumours that usually start in the womb. They are different from womb cancer though, as womb cancer starts in the cells of the womb itself, whereas GTT develops from cells that are supposed to develop into the placenta during pregnancy. Placenta is the organ that protects the fetus and provides nourishment to the growing baby during a pregnancy. Most of these tumours are benign, that means they are not cancerous. However, some of them can become cancerous and spread outside the womb. The good thing is that there are effective treatment that works very well for all types of GTTs and nearly all of them are curable, whether they are cancerous or non cancerous. Please see below if you want to find out more.

To help you find answers to some of your questions, we have linked to Maggie’s CancerLinks where you will be signposted to high quality information about gestational trophoblastic tumours. The information on these websites is not written specifically for young people but it is written using simple language in a way that most people will be able to understand. Don’t worry if there are lots of links to different websites. Have a look on the description of the links and very often you will find the information you are searching for on the first website that you look at. If you just want general information about cancer you could read the ‘About cancer’ section on riprap.

Just to remind you that if you are looking for information about womb cancer (also known as uterine or endometrial cancer) this section is not for you. You need to go to the section called Womb/Uterine/Endometrial cancers.

Remember that the information on these sites is general. Within each cancer type, there are different variations, different stages, different treatments and people may also respond differently to the same treatments. Each person is an individual and because of this, generic information may not fit the situation you are thinking of. Often your parents or someone else who knows the details can answer your questions best. Also, please feel free to get in touch with us here at riprap. We can help you sorting through information or discuss things you’ve heard or read or anything at all that’s on your mind.

Don’t forget that there are lots of effective treatments for cancer these days and many cancers can be completely cured. There are also very good treatments to control cancers that cannot be cured and research is going on all the time to find new treatments that can control and cure cancers.

Page updated 17 July 2017