Pathology Outlines

Stains & CD markers
hCG

Author: Nat Pernick, M.D.

Last author update: 1 August 2012

Last staff update: 18 June 2021

Copyright: 2002-2023, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.

PubMed Search: hCG [title]

Page views in 2022: 3,016

Page views in 2023 to date: 708

Table of Contents

Cite this page: Pernick N. hCG. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/stainshcg.html. Accessed March 21st, 2023.

Definition / general

human Chorionic Gonadotrophin
Also called βhCG or beta hCG
Glycoprotein with alpha and beta subunits (Wikipedia: Human Chorionic Gonadotropin [Accessed 2 August 2018])
May cause low TSH levels during early pregnancy because of TSH-like effects of hCG, which has similar alpha subunit as TSH

Uses by pathologists

Cytoplasmic stain; relatively specific for choriocarcinoma or syncytiotrophoblasts
Serum levels of beta subunit used to detect pregnancy
Serum levels also used to stage germ cell tumors and gestational trophoblastic tumors

Microscopic (histologic) images

Case #200 and #207

Choriocarcinoma, metastatic

Choriocarcinoma, 8 year old girl, mature teratoma

AFIP images

Bladder, urothelial carcinoma, AFIP

Images hosted on other servers:

Normal placenta, third trimester

Positive staining - normal

Positive staining - disease

Choriocarcinoma → complete mole → partial mole
Syncytiotrophoblast cells in other tumors, including epithelioid trophoblastic tumors, carcinomas with trophoblastic differentiation, some carcinoids and other tumors
Serous effusions with reactive mesothelium may be hCG+ (Mod Pathol 2004;17:701)

Negative staining

Giant cells other than syncytiotrophoblasts; early placenta, cytotrophoblast, intermediate villous trophoblast
Exaggerated placental site
Placental site nodule
Placental site trophoblastic tumor
Dysgerminoma / seminoma, yolk sac tumor, but may have scattered hCG+ syncytiotrophoblasts