Peritoneal carcinoma in a male patient

Abstract

Peritoneal carcinoma is a rare primary tumor, described in the literature almost exclusively in women. This report describes our clinicopathological findings in a 51-year-old male patient with peritoneal carcinoma and ascites. Pathologic studies included routine histology, immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy on biopsy and autopsy tumor tissue. After chemotherapy, the patient achieved a complete remission twice, lasting for 14 months and 8 months, respectively, and died after 3 years. His clinical course was similar to that of female patients with peritoneal carcinoma or advanced ovarian cancer. Our case confirms the existence of primary peritoneal carcinoma in males. In addition, it shows that this entity responds to the same chemotherapy as used for ovarian cancer and primary peritoneal carcinoma in females.