Background: Ascites cytology is important for determining the stage and treatment methods for ovarian clear cell carcinoma (CCC) as defined by the 2014 International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology classification.
Methods: Patients with CCC who underwent surgery at our hospital between January 2012 and December 2019 and who received cytodiagnosis of their ascites using Papanicolaou (Pap) and May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) staining, and cell block methods were identified. The cell block technique was performed using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining and immunohistochemical staining for hepatocyte nuclear factor-1β (HNF-1β), estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and Wilms tumor-1 (WT-1). Cancer cells of CCC were defined as tumor cells that were positive for HNF-1β and negative for ER, PR, and WT-1. The diagnostic accuracy of ascites cytology using Pap and MGG staining and cell block methods was examined.
Results: Based on cytological data, our study included 17 patients: seven (41.1%) with malignant (MAL) ascites, eight (47.1%) with negative for malignancy (NFM), and two (11.8%) with atypia of undetermined significance (AUS) because of a few atypical cells based on Pap and MGG staining. Malignant cells diagnosed by cell blocks were detected in 7/7 patients with MAL ascites based on PAP and MGG staining, 2/8 (25.0%) patients with NFM, and 1/2 (50%) patients with AUS.
Conclusion: These findings show that the cell block method combined with the immunohistochemical investigation may be useful for increasing the diagnostic accuracy of malignant cells in CCC.
Keywords: Papanicolaou; ascites; cell block; clear cell carcinoma; hepatocyte nuclear factor-1β; may-Grünwald-Giemsa; pelvic washing.
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