Abstract
Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube is one of the least common malignancies of the female genital tract. We experienced four cases of this malignancy recently. The clinical course and cytologic and histologic features were studied, particularly to determine which cytologic findings are characteristic of this condition. In three cases, exfoliative cytology was performed by consecutive examination of the same cells by light microscopy and scanning and transmission electron microscopy (the consecutive LM-SEM-TEM examination). The results are presented below.
I) Cytologic findings
1) Cells often occurred in papillary clusters in a relatively clean background.
2) The smallness of clusters was one of the morphological characteristics.
3) Nucleoli or aggregation of chromatin was prominent.
4) The rim of the cytoplasm was indistinct. The cells were from round to oval.
5) The cytoplasm was relatively light, and some cells contained vacuoles.
6) Exfoliative cytology revealed histiocytes in three of the four cases. They presumably arose from inflammatory lesions in the uterine or peritoneal cavity.
II) Findings of consecutive LM-SEM-TEM examination of the same cells.
1) The cells had microvilli and contained poorly developed mitochondria.
2) Like the cytologic examination, this consecutive examination revealed remarkable nucleoli. Consequently, it is clear that the presence of distinct nucleoli is a characteristic feature of carcinoma cells occurring in the fallopian tube.
3) The histological type and cells of origin may be difficult to determine.
