EXTRAOVARIAN PRIMARY PERITONEAL CANCER (con't)
Overview of Primary Peritoneal Cancer
Extraovarian primary peritoneal cancer is a rare cancer that arises in the peritoneum. The peritoneum is the layer of cells lining the inside of the abdomen.
Primary peritoneal cancer is sometimes referred to as “ovarian cancer not in the ovaries” or as a cancer that “mimics” advanced ovarian cancer. The two cancers are similar in that they both arise from the same type of tissue (tissue that lines the ovaries and tissues that lines the abdomen). They are also similar in microscopic appearance, age range of diagnosis, symptoms, pattern of spread, and prognosis.
Thus extraovarian primary peritoneal cancer and ovarian cancer are treated similarly.
Types of Primary Peritoneal Cancer:
The primary cell type is papillary serous carcinoma.
Synonyms:
- extraovarian peritoneal serous papillary carcinoma
- serous surface papillary carcinoma
- multiple focal extraovarian serous carcinoma
- primary peritoneal papillary serous adenocarcinoma
- serous surface carcinoma of the peritoneum
- papillary serous carcinoma of the peritoneum
- peritoneal papillary carcinoma
Stages of Primary Peritoneal Cancer:
The system used for ovarian cancer is used for peritoneal cancer. Most cases are:
Stage III
Stage III (stage 3) peritoneal cancer is contained within the abdomen.
Stage IV
Stage IV (stage 4) peritoneal cancer has spread to distant organs such as the liver or lungs.
Grades of Peritoneal Cancer:
Grade indicates how quickly or slowly cancer cells grow. The grade is determined by the appearance of the cells under the microscope. Tumors are graded on a scale of 1 to 3.
Grade 1 - cells look most like normal tissue (called well differentiated). Grade 1 cancers grow and spread somewhat slowly.
Grade 2 - cells look somewhat like normal tissue (called moderately well differentiated). Grade 2 cancers grow and spread quickly.
Grade 3 - cells appear very abnormal (called poorly differentiated or undifferentiated). Grade 3 cancers grow and spread very quickly. They are considered "aggressive."
