Cytology of peritoneal implants of borderline serous tumor of ovaries in ascitic fluid

Abstract

Objectives: Peritoneal fluid cytology is done routinely in cases with serous carcinoma of ovary. However, morphologic features of borderline serous tumors (BSTs) of ovary in ascitic fluid have been rarely described. The aim of our study was to evaluate the morphologic features of BST with and without ascitic fluid involvement (BST+ and BST-, respectively) and compare with those of serous carcinomas, both in conventional and liquid-based cytology (LBC) smears. Material and Methods: Out of 30 BST cases reported in 3 years, seven cases had BST+. We compared the cytomorphology of seven cases of BST+, seven cases of BST-, and seven cases of serous adenocarcinoma with positive ascitic fluid cytology. Both conventional and LBC smears were studied in all cases and compared. Histopathology of omentum in these cases was also studied. Results: Most cases with BST+ had regular papillary fragment borders with nuclei showing mild-to-moderate pleomorphism, fine nuclear chromatin with small nucleoli as compared with serous carcinomas all of which had irregular borders with moderate-to-severe nuclear pleomorphism, coarse chromatin, and macronucleoli. Conclusion: A combination of cytoarchitectural and nuclear features can help in suspecting BST in ascitic fluid. Ascitic fluid cytology together with tissue histology can increase the rate of the detection of peritoneal implants.