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Malignant-Secondary (MAL-S)

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The International System for Serous Fluid Cytopathology

Abstract

Cytological evaluation of serous effusion specimens has become a well-established and valuable means of diagnosing malignancy. This chapter aims to provide a practical diagnostic approach to malignant effusions that are secondary (metastatic) in nature by cell of origin (e.g., epithelial, neuroendocrine, hematolymphoid, melanocytic, mesenchymal, or germ cell). The key cytomorphological criteria of specific entities that belong to this “MAL-S” diagnostic category are highlighted in easily accessible, bulleted format. Furthermore, practical guidelines are also provided for cases where there is suspicion of involvement by hematolymphoid malignancies, as these can prove to be diagnostically challenging. The explanatory notes that follow provide detailed discussions of the differential diagnosis, diagnostic pitfalls, and useful ancillary studies to facilitate accurate diagnosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cellular Pathology, St Thomas’ Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Yurina Miki

  2. Department of Pathology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Z. Laura Tabatabai

  3. Department of Pathology, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway

    Ben Davidson

  4. University of Oslo, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Oslo, Norway

    Ben Davidson

Authors
  1. Yurina Miki
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  2. Z. Laura Tabatabai
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  3. Ben Davidson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben Davidson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Cellular Pathology, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Ashish Chandra

  2. Gynecology, Breast and Cytopathology Joint Pathology Center, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Barbara Crothers

  3. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison, WI, USA

    Daniel Kurtycz

  4. Department of Pathology, Medical Faculty of Porto University and Unit of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology Porto University, Porto, Portugal

    Fernando Schmitt

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Miki, Y., Tabatabai, Z.L., Davidson, B. (2020). Malignant-Secondary (MAL-S). In: Chandra, A., Crothers, B., Kurtycz, D., Schmitt, F. (eds) The International System for Serous Fluid Cytopathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53908-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53908-5_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-53907-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-53908-5

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