[Cystadenocarcinoma with peritoneal involvement (pseudomyxoma peritonei). Is surgical resection alone sufficient?]

We present our experience of 10 cases of pseudomyxoma peritonei treated in our regional hospital between 1978 and 1992. We note the rarity of this disease; the catastrophic macroscopic appearance may mislead the in experienced surgeon. Preoperative diagnosis is usually easy when confronted with a mass in an ascitic abdomen, with the help of ultrasonography and CT-scan, and above all after abdominal puncture which produces pathognomonic gelatinous fluid. Most cases are derived from the ovary and appendix. Treatment is surgical and aggressive; we adopt the protocol proposed by Sugarbaker which combines repeated surgery and local and systemic chemotherapy. The relatively good survival, even in the malignant cases, seems to be improved by this treatment.