Abstract

DE ANDRADE ANDRADE, ROBERT JAMES; MATA ITURRIZA, JOSÉ FRANCISCO; LOPEZ LOYO, ENRIQUE  and  GIL MARTINEZ, LUISA ELENA. Adenocarcinoma Del Sistema Digestivo: Utilidad Diagnóstica De La Citología Peritoneal. Rev. venez. oncol. [online]. 2005, vol.17, n.2, pp.79-88. ISSN 0798-0582.

OBJECTIVES: The peritoneal cytology is a method of wide use to detect atypical cells in the abdominal cavity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the prognosis value of the peritoneal cytology in adenocarcinoma of the digestive system. METHODS: A prospective and descriptive study of the patients with adenocarcinoma of the digestive system surgically treated was made in Military Hospital Dr. Carlos Arvelo of Caracas, between November of 1999 and May of 2001, to a group of 41 patients one practiced the peritoneal cytology at the beginning and end of the surgical procedure. RESULTS: The carcinomas of stomach and colon were most frequent. The sensitivity and specificity of the method were 36.4 % and 71.4 %, respectively. Was a statistically significant relation between positive the peritoneal cytology and the stage of the disease (ascites, visceral metastasis and infiltration to adjacent organs), as well as, in the survival rate. The survival in the patients with negative cytology to the 23 months of follow-up, was of 71.5 %, whereas in the cases with positive cytology it was of 40.3 % (P= 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The peritoneal cytology in the cancer of the digestive system is a prognosis factor associated to the extension of the disease. The global survival rate obtained demonstrates the high mortality in the cases of the positive cytology.

Keywords : Peritoneal cytology; diagnosis; cancer; digestive tract; prognosis.