21474              DIFFUSE CARCINOMATOSIS OF THE PERITONEUM

The patient was a man aged 59 who presented with ascites.  At operation at Port Lincoln what was thought to be a sigmoid carcinoma was found.  He was transferred to the RAH some time later, and was admitted grossly wasted with a hard distended abdomen.  The diagnosis of abdominal carcinomatosis was made and he died a week later.  At postmortem there was diffuse malignant involvement in the peritoneum.  The entire alimentary tract was matted together by diffuse, mucinous neoplasm.  The exact site of origin could not be determined.

The specimen shows some of this mass.  Confluent nodular masses of mucinous tumour bind the coils of bowel together.  Histology shows scattered signet ring cells in a mass of mucin.