PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - El Hage, Lea
AU  - Hatipoglu, Betul
TI  - Elevated hCG can be a benign finding in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women
AID  - 10.3949/ccjm.88a.18069
DP  - 2021 Nov 01
TA  - Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine
PG  - 635--639
VI  - 88
IP  - 11
4099  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/88/11/635.short
4100  - http://www.ccjm.org/content/88/11/635.full
SO  - Cleve Clin J Med2021 Nov 01; 88
AB  - In a perimenopausal or postmenopausal woman, an elevation in human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) can raise the concern of malignancy or even pregnancy, but it can also be a benign physiologic finding due to production in the pituitary gland in this patient population. Diagnosing the underlying cause of hCG elevation can be challenging, especially if a pituitary source is not considered. Pituitary hCG production remains largely underrecognized and can lead to unnecessary testing, harmful therapy such as chemotherapy, or delay in receiving appropriate care for other unrelated diseases. It is therefore important to establish guidelines to aid medical evaluation.