THE POSITIVE PERITONEAL EFFUSION - A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF CYTOPATHOLOGIC DIAGNOSES WITH AUTOPSY CONFIRMATION

The distribution of 215 malignant tumors responsible for peritoneal ef fusions was investigated with respect to cytohistologic correlation an d autopsy features. In males, cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, pa ncreas and liver were the most frequently observed forms, whereas in f emales tumors at gynecologic sites far outnumbered other neoplasms, su ch as stomach, bowel, pancreas, gall-bladder and liver cancer. Cells f rom extraabdominal tumors, consistently seen in positive ascitic effus ions, were from pleural mesothelioma and breast carcinoma, respectivel y, in males and females. The first diagnosis of malignancy rested on c ytologic material in about 57% of cases in both sexes. In females, how ever, cancers of the ovary were discovered only cytologically in about two-thirds of cases. Occasionally, cancers of the uterine cervix and endometrium were diagnosed initially on peritoneal fluid. Morphologic diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was rendered on a cytologic specimen in all cases. The results of this study are useful reference data for cy tologists dealing with positive effusions, especially due to unknown p rimary neoplasms.