Extraovarian Peritoneal Serous Papillary Carcinoma: A Case Report

Extraovarian peritoneal serous papillary carcinoma (EPSPC) is a rare cancer closely related to ovarian carcinoma and characterized by abdominal carcinomatosis without an identifiable abdominal primary tumor. A woman presented with ascites. She had an elevated serum CA-125. Peritoneal carcinomatosis without involvement of the ovaries was found. Paracentesis of the ascitic fluid resulted in a positive cytologic report not further suggestive of the malignancy origin, balancing between a mesothelioma and an adenocarcinoma. The histologic and immunohistochemical study of peritoneal biopsy specimens resulted in the diagnosis of EPSPC. The combination of cytology, histology, immunohistochemistry and clinical data is a reliable method for the preoperative diagnosis of EPSPC, allowing prompt chemotherapy as surgery may not be indicated in most cases.