An elevated β-hCG in the absence of viable pregnancy can occur for multiple reasons and has a broad differential diagnosis including miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, pituitary hCG production, trophoblastic disease and phantom hCG.
Normal Results
Normal levels are found in: Non-pregnant women: less than 5 mIU/mL. Healthy men: less than 2 mIU/mL.
hCG is structurally and functionally similar to luteinizing hormone (LH), secreted by gonadotropes in anterior pituitary gland. Because there is only one receptor, hCG and LH mimic each other's functions2.
Among nonreproductive tumors, hepatobiliary tumors (hepatoblastomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, and cholangiocarcinomas) and neuroendocrine tumors (eg, islet cell tumors and carcinoids) are those most commonly associated with hCG production.
High levels of β-hCG may indicate a particularly aggressive form of cancer. For this reason, hCG and β-hCG levels can help diagnose and monitor several types of cancer [3]. About 10-30% of most cancer patients (like those with lung, breast, or prostate cancer) have elevated levels of hCG.
Pain or pressure in the pelvic area. Abdominal swelling. Anemia, which is a low red blood cell count that can cause fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, or an irregular heartbeat. Anxiety or irritability, including feeling shaky or experiencing severe sweating.
One medical concern about higher levels of hCG is that they may indicate gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD). GTD can occur during or after pregnancy. It causes abnormal cells to grow in the uterus. Some can be cancerous, though most are benign.
But it is possible to get a positive result from a home pregnancy test when you're not pregnant. This is called a false-positive. A false-positive might happen if you had a pregnancy loss soon after the fertilized egg attached to the uterine lining.
And hCG isn't produced until after implantation has occurred. For the most accurate results, we recommend testing in the morning on the day you expect your period to start. This allows for variability in the timing of ovulation, fertilization, and implantation.
It can be tempting to try remedies or foods that purportedly help raise your hCG levels. Unfortunately, there's no way to change your hCG levels or make them go up. What's more, hCG levels reflect information about your pregnancy, but changing them wouldn't address the cause of any potential problems.
In conclusion, stress-related hormones affect placental HCG secretion in vitro. The involvement of these factors in impairing early pregnancy development is suggested.
Conclusion: Mature ovarian cystic teratomas have rarely been reported to secrete HCG. They can be an infrequent source of HCG production and may lead to emergency surgery to treat a suspected extra-uterine pregnancy.
ABSTRACT: Clinically significant false-positive human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test results are rare. However, some individuals have circulating factors in their serum (eg, heterophilic antibodies or nonactive forms of hCG) that interact with the hCG antibody and cause unusual or unexpected test results.
Most of these false-positive results are due to interference by non-human chorionic gonadotropin substances (especially human luteinizing hormone and anti-animal immunoglobulin antibodies) and the detection of pituitary human chorionic gonadotropin.
Serious urinary tract infections (with high levels of WBC, RBC and nitrite) can occasionally cause a false positive pregnancy test result.
Pregnancy test: A corpus luteum cyst can cause a false positive on a pregnancy test. Ultrasound: This imaging test uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of your uterus and ovaries.
PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) can not cause a false positive pregnancy test. PCOS results in changes in hormone levels and is one of the very complex endocrine disorders. These changes may impact a woman's ability to ovulate consistently or prevent ovulation completely.
An hCG level of less than 5 mIU/mL is considered negative for pregnancy, and anything above 25 mIU/mL is considered positive for pregnancy. An hCG level between 6 and 24 mIU/mL is considered a grey area, and you'll likely need to be retested to see if your levels rise to confirm a pregnancy.
Human chorionic gonadotropin has been used for decades, in addition to specific investigations, to detect pregnancy, trophoblastic tumors, as well as congenital defects. Rarely, it can be elevated in non-trophoblastic tumors such as squamous cell cancers and germ cell tumors.
HCG is often expressed in ovarian cancer tissue with a certain variable relation to grade and stage. HCG expression correlates with LH-R expression in ovarian cancer tissue, which has previously been shown to be of prognostic value.
Other non-trophoblastic malignancies such as non-small cell cancer of the lung,6 7 gastric carcinoma,8 renal cell carcinoma,9 squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck,10 ovarian cancer11 and leiomysarcoma12 can produce a hyperglycosylated free β-hCG, which has a role in facilitating cancer cell survival and ...