A case of primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube diagnosed preoperatively by cytology and hysterosalpingography

Abstract

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube is a rare disease which is hardly diagnosed prior to operation. A 46-year-old patient visited our clinic with main complaint of vaginal bloody discharges which had persisted for several months. A thumb-sized phyma was felt on the cavum douglasi. The correct preoperative diagnosis of adenocarcinoma in the left fallopian tube was made on the basis of positive cervical cytology and endometrial aspiration smears though no distinguishment between adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma could be obtained by vaginal cytology. Endometrial curettage revealed no malignancy and a tumor shadow almost filling the lumen of the left ampulla was confirmed by hysterosalpingography. The rate of positive cytology for primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube in Japan is 45.6%(26/57). Endometrial aspiration cytology seems to be extremely useful for detecting primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube.