Psammomacarcinoma of the peritoneum

Psammomacarcinoma is a rare histologic subtype of serous carcinoma originat ing in the. ovary or peritoneum, characterized by massive psammoma body for mation, invasiveness, and low-grade differentiation. Its clinical behavior appears similar to that of serous borderline tumors rather than that of typ ical invasive serous carcinomas. Peritoneal psammomacarcinoma is even rarer than its ovarian counterpart with only 10 cases have previously been docum ented in the literature. A case of F.I.G.O. stage IIIC peritoneal psammomac arcinoma is described. Optimal debulking surgery, including omentectomy, to tal abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral adnexectomy, and resection of segment of jejunum, was performed. The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy with taxol and cisplatin, and to date, 15 months after surgery, she is alive an d with no evidence of disease. It is concluded that peritoneal psammomacarc inoma is a very rare tumor that behaves less aggressively than typical sero us carcinoma. The mainstay of treatment is surgical debulking. The role of adjuvant chemotherapy has as yet not been established. (C) 2001 Elsevier Sc ience Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.