Diagnosis of umbilical metastasis (sister Mary Joseph's nodule) by fine‐needle aspiration: An immunocytochemical study

Abstract

During a ten year period, since we introduced needle aspiration cytology at our institution, we have diagnosed five cases of umbilical metastasis (Sister Mary Joseph's nodule). In none of the cases was any false negative or false positive diagnosis rendered and the primary carcinoma was found below the diaphragm. In all the five cases, cell blocks of the aspirate were subsequently prepared, and highlighted the histologic features of the tumour which corresponded with the cytologic diagnosis. Immunohistochemical staining on the aspirate material in all the cases was considered quite useful in substantiating the cytohistologic diagnosis. Based on our findings, we suggest that fine-needle aspiration cytology as an initial diagnostic procedure in cases suspected of umbilical metastasis should be considered, since it is not only a simple, fast, accurate, and inexpensive diagnostic procedure, but can also save the patient from an invasive surgical procedure, the benefit of which is questionable.

Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology of Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Metastatic Deposits from Epithelial Malignancies

“…Similar observations have also been made in the majority of cases in other recent studies. 6,7,9,11,12 Also, survival time in the cases presented in this study after the FNAC diagnoses was short (a few weeks to months); that is in agreement with other studies. 4,7 In conclusion, we, like others [4][5][6][7]9,11,12 are of the opinion that FNAC is a safe, minimally invasive and rapid first-line investigation for assessing and confirming the diagnosis of cutaneous/subcutaneous metastases from epithelial malignancies from known and unknown sites.…”

Un cas rare de métastase ombilicale de tumeur viscérale. Éponyme: nodule de Sœur-Marie-Joseph

“…Actuellement, la ponction aspiration à l'aiguille fine est recommandée [5,6]. Il s'agit d'un examen simple, peu coûteux, moins invasif, propice à un diagnostic anatomopathologique et immunohistochimique [6]. Les types histologiques les plus fréquents sont des adénocarcinomes ; les lymphomes sont exceptionnels [7,8].…”

Nodule de Sœur-Marie-Joseph : quelles implications diagnostiques et thérapeutiques ? À propos de deux cas

“…Actuellement, la méthode qui semble être la plus adaptée est la ponction-aspiration à l'aiguille fine [7,8]. Il s'agit d'un examen simple, peu coûteux, moins invasif, qui permet d'obtenir un diagnostic anatomopathologique et immunohistochimique, sa fiabilité est de 100 % [8].…”

“…Actuellement, la méthode qui semble être la plus adaptée est la ponction-aspiration à l'aiguille fine [7,8]. Il s'agit d'un examen simple, peu coûteux, moins invasif, qui permet d'obtenir un diagnostic anatomopathologique et immunohistochimique, sa fiabilité est de 100 % [8]. Les types histologiques les plus fréquents des métastases ombilicales sont les adénocarcinomes (90 %) [6] ; les lymphomes sont exceptionnels [9,10].…”