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Melanoma with signet‐ring cells in a peritoneal effusion
Author(s) -
Niemann Theodore H.,
Thomas Patricia A.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/dc.2840120310
Subject(s) - medicine , signet ring cell , effusion , melanoma , peritoneal effusion , pathology , adenocarcinoma , cancer research , cancer , surgery
Melanoma may occasionally give rise to a malignant effusion and when this occurs it can present a challenging differential diagnosis. We present such a patient who developed a peritoneal effusion. Cytologic examination of the peritoneal fluid revealed individual malignant cells with prominent cytoplasmic vacuoles raising the possibility of a signet‐ring cell adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical studies were indicative of a malignant melanoma. in this case we believe that the cytoplasmic vacuoles may be a degenerative phenomenon and as such may represent another mechanism for the development of a signet‐ring morphology in malignant melanoma. © Wiley‐Liss, Inc.