Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is intraperitoneal dissemination (

carcinosis Carcinosis, or carcinomatosis, is disseminated cancer, forms of metastasis, whether used generally or in specific patterns of spread. Usage Carcinomatosis is often restricted to tumors of epithelial origin, adenocarcinomas, while sarcomatosis des ...

) of any form of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

that does not originate from the

peritoneum The peritoneum is the serous membrane forming the lining of the abdominal cavity or coelom in amniotes and some invertebrates, such as annelids. It covers most of the intra-abdominal (or coelomic) organs, and is composed of a layer of mesoth ...

itself. PC is most commonly seen in abdominopelvic malignancies. Computed tomography (CT) is particularly important for detailed preoperative assessment and evaluation of the radiological Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI). File:Pap stain of adenocarcinoma in peritoneal fluid.png,

Cytopathology Cytopathology (from Greek , ''kytos'', "a hollow"; , ''pathos'', "fate, harm"; and , '' -logia'') is a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level. The discipline was founded by George Nicolas Papanicolaou in 1 ...

of peritoneal fluid (

Pap stain Papanicolaou stain (also Papanicolaou's stain and Pap stain) is a multichromatic (multicolored) Cytopathology, cytological staining technique developed by Georgios_Papanikolaou, George Papanicolaou in 1942. The Papanicolaou stain is one of the mos ...

) in a case of peritoneal carcinomatosis, showing typical features of

adenocarcinoma Adenocarcinoma (; plural adenocarcinomas or adenocarcinomata ) (AC) is a type of cancerous tumor that can occur in several parts of the body. It is defined as neoplasia of epithelial tissue that has glandular origin, glandular characteristics, or ...

References

Further reading