Hydatidiform moles associated with multiple gestations after assisted reproduction: diagnosis by analysis of DNA fingerprint

In spite of the widespread use of assisted reproductive technology, there have been, to our knowledge, only two reported cases of molar pregnancies after gamete intra-Fallopian transfer and five reported cases after in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. We report here a case of a complete hydatidiform mole in a twin pregnancy after gamete intra-Fallopian transfer, as well as a case of a complete hydatidiform mole in a triplet pregnancy after in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. The genetic constitution of each conceptus was determined by examination of the restriction fragment length polymorphism of the DNA with four different single-locus probes. This analysis revealed that both hydatidiform moles were of androgenetic origin and probably of monospermic origin. Moreover, the analysis confirmed that the pregnancies were dizygotic and trizygotic pregnancies respectively. The diagnostic utility of the analysis of DNA polymorphism is discussed in cases of a molar pregnancy with coexisting fetuses.