Is cell block technique useful to predict histological type in patients with ovarian mass and/or body cavity fluids?

The cell block (CB) technique is a generalized method utilized for the diagnostic evaluation of body cavity fluids. Ascites cytology is one of the most important diagnostic processes for epithelial ovarian cancer. However, in clinical practice, the usefulness of the CB method to diagnose this tumor remains unelucidated. Between 2008 and 2017, 15 peritoneal or pleural fluid samples obtained from patients with ovarian or peritoneal carcinoma or other gastrointestinal malignancies were preoperatively subjected to a diagnostic evaluation to predict the histological type and original organ. The CBs were made from 10% formalin neutral buffer solution fixed sediments of fluid samples after cytological smears were made by conventional method. Four-μm thickness sections were prepared from the cell blocks and stained with immunohistochemical method, using 16 kinds of antibodies and hematoxylin eosin staining method. The cellularity, architectural patterns, and morphological details were also studied. The median (range) age of patients was 73 (35–87) years. The clinical features were identified as follows: pleural effusion in 4, ovarian mass in 7, peritoneal dissemination in 12, para-aortic nodal swelling in one, and liver tumor in one (some overlapping). Five patients had a history of prior malignancy. Finally, we could accurately diagnose the histological type in 9 patients based on subsequent biopsy, surgery, and autopsy. In all 9 women, the clinical diagnosis, CB diagnosis and final pathological diagnosis were consistent. The CB technique may be a helpful modality for evaluating fluid cytology to obtain a final histopathologic diagnosis.