Abstract
Both the peritoneal and pleural cavities may be the site of metastasis from ovarian tumors, though the former is more commonly involved. Dissemination to the pericardial cavity is uncommon. The differential diagnosis of ovarian metastases in serous effusions is critically dependent on the histology. While spreading from germ cell tumors and sex cord-stromal tumors may occasionally be seen, the vast majority of cases are metastases from ovarian carcinomas. Metastases from carcinosarcomas and involvement by borderline tumors, particularly serous, may be encountered as well. Carcinomas are predominantly of serous type, low-grade or high-grade, followed by clear cell carcinoma. Metastases from mucinous or endometrioid carcinoma are far less common. Serous carcinomas should be differentiated both from other carcinomas and from benign and malignant mesothelial cells, whereas in other histotypes the former differential diagnosis is usually more relevant. This chapter discusses the morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of the different ovarian tumors that may be found in serous effusions and the differential diagnosis for each of these entities.
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Davidson, B. (2018). Ovarian Cancer. In: Davidson, B., Firat, P., Michael, C. (eds) Serous Effusions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76478-8_3
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