Abstract
Objective: We investigated imprint smears of ovarian mucinous and serous tumors.
Study design: Imprint smears of 52 cases of ovarian mucinous and serous tumors including mucinous adenoma (20), mucinous borderline malignancy (4), mucinous adenocarcinoma (3), serous adenoma (5), serous borderline malignancy (5), and serous adenocarcinoma (15) were examined cytologically.
Results: Mucinous tumor cells were tall columnar, and were characterized by the presence of intracytoplasmic mucin and semilunar-shaped nuclei. Serous tumor cells were low columnar and their cytoplasm was well stained lightgreen. Coffee-bean nuclei were a feature of mucinous adenoma. Adenoma showed flat sheets with regular-arranged nuclei and a honeycomb pattern. Borderline tumors tended to appear as small clusters. Adenocarcinomas were markedly cellular and appeared as single cells with nuclear indentation. Intestinal-type mucinous adenoma and mucinous borderline malignancy showed a psendo-cribriform pattern. Serous adenoma and serous borderline showed nuclei that protruded from papillary clusters. Psammoma bodies appeared in serous adenocarcinoma, mucinous adenoma and mucinous borderline malignancy. Although the presence of mucin on the background is characteristic of mucinous tumors, one case of serous borderline malignancy revealed a small amount of mucin in the background.
Conclusion: It may be possible to cytologically differentiate mucinous and serous tumors of the ovary.
