China Science

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of endometrial aspiration cytology forassessing malignant cells of extrauterine origin. STUDY DESIGN: Endometrial cytology was performedon 224 patients with primary ovarian cancer, 10 with fallopian tube cancer and 45 with peritonealtumors. RESULTS: Of 224 patients with ovarian cancer, 53 (23.7%) had positive endometrial cytology.Positive rates were: stage I, 4.3%; stage II, 25.0%; stage III, 39.7%; stage IV, 34.5%. Histologicpositive rates were: serous, 28.7%; mucinous, 11.4%; clear cell, 23.1%; endometrioid andunclassifiable adenocarcinomas, 28.0%. Of 5 patients with ovarian cancer, 2 were asymptomatic, butaspiration cytology was positive. Of 10 patients with fallopian tube cancer, 9 (90.0%) had positiveendometrial cytology. The positive rate on endometrial cytology was 56.7% in stomach cancer, 60.0%in breast cancer and 20.0% in colon cancer. Of 1,209 women with stomach cancer, 30 (2.4%) displayedovarian metastasis. Of these, 7 (23.3%) had Krukenberg’s tumor; endometrial cytology was positive in1 (14.3%). In 7 of 17 patients with positive endometrial cytology, clinical diagnosis was madebefore stomach cancer therapy. CONCLUSION: Endometrial aspiration cytology is useful for identifyingnongynecologic malignant cells, diagnosing ovarian and fallopian tube cancers, and determiningperitoneal dissemination and metastasis originating from gastrointestinal and breast cancers.

Saji,H　Kurose,K　Sugiura,K　Miyagi,E　Onose,R　Kato,H　Nakayama,H
Department of Gynecology, Kanagawa Cancer Center Hospital, Yokohama, Japan.haru-saji@muh.biglobe.ne.jp

Peritoneal Endometrio- Diagnostic Neoplasm Staging