Abstract
Background : In the case of a serous borderline tumor (SBT) with peritoneal implants and cytologically positive ascites, immigration of tumor cells into the uterine cavity via the fallopian tube could be induced.
Case : A 31-year-old female consulted her local doctor with prolonged amenorrhea following the delivery of her first baby. An ovarian tumor was identified with endometrial cytologic abnormality. In the endometrial cytology, the histological type was speculated as serous adenocarcinoma of ovarian origin because atypical cells were involved with frequent psammoma body formation. A small amount of ascites was observed during the surgery. Histologically, the right ovarian tumor was characterized by mildly stratified tumor cells arranged in a papillary architecture, supported by abundant stroma with no obvious stromal invasion. In spite of the absence of surface papillary growth, there were many small foci of non-invasive implants scattered in the omentum.
Conclusion : Endometrial cytology may aid in the detection of ovarian tumor cells, but the cytological positivity does not always reflect malignancies, as demonstrated in this SBT.
