Abstract
Background : Small cell carcinoma of the ovary of the hypercalcemic type (SCCO-H) is a rare tumor which predominantly affects young women and shows an aggressive biological behavior. Early and accurate pathological diagnosis is highly desirable for the therapy and management of patients. Only a few previous reports have described the cytological findings of this tumor. We report the intraoperative cytological findings of an additional case.
Case : A 39-year-old woman presented with a large left ovarian tumor accompanied by peritoneal dissemination and ascites. Intraoperative cytological examination of ascitic fluid and imprint smears of the cut surface of the extirpated ovarian tumor demonstrated sheet-like clusters of small to medium-sized cells with atypical nuclei and scant cytoplasm. Large polygonal cells with abundant cytoplasm were also admixed. The histopathology of the ovarian tumor demonstrated typical features of SCCO-H.
Conclusion : The cytological findings of SCCO-H are largely non-specific and need to be differentiated from various other ovarian tumors. The distinction from desmoplastic small round cell tumor, a rare soft tissue tumor that occasionally involves the ovary, is particularly difficult and requires adjunct immunohistochemical studies.
