BACKGROUND: Metastatic adenocarcinomas in effusions are frequently observed. Cytologic diagnosis of adenocarcinoma is often precise; unfortunately, the classification of the primary site is not possible in a great number of cases. The scope of this study was to report the frequency of adenocarcinomas in effusions according to the primary site. MATERIAL: We studied 2317 sequential cases: 1146 pleural effusions (943 women and 203 men), 1168 ascitic (727 women and 441 men), and 3 pericardial (2 women and 1 men). METHOD: Retrospective analysis of the records of the patients and correlations of the data of clinical follow up and morphological findings. RESULTS: The primary sites more frequently seen in pleural cavity were: breast (N = 586 - 51.1%), lung (N = 185 - 16.1%: 102 men and 83 women), and ovary (N = 124 - 10.8%); in ascites: stomach (N= 473 - 40.5%: 300 men and 173 women), ovary (N= 306 - 26.2%) and breast (N = 83 - 7.1%). Regarding only the samples of malignant effusions we observed 555 in pleural cavity: breast (N=288 - 51.9%), lung (N=92, 16.6%: 45 men and 47 women) and ovary (N=54, 9.7%). In ascites we reported: ovary (N=205 - 37.9%), stomach (N=202 - 37,3%: 119 men and 83 women) and breast (N=31 - 6.8%). In 47 pleural effusions (8.5%) and 37 ascites (6.8%), the original site of the neoplasia remained undetermined. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of the relative frequencies, associated with clinical information, can be helpful in the selection of further investigation for the metastatic adenocarcinomas.
Adenocarcinoma; Serous effusions; Cytopathology; Pleural effusions; Ascites; Metastases
