Ovarian mucinous tumor with mural nodules of anaplastic carcinoma

A case of mucinous cystic ovarian tumor with mural nodules of anaplastic carcinoma in a 30-year-old woman is described. The carcinomatous components within the nodules showed strong immunopositivity for cytokeratin and carcinoembryonic antigen, and ultrastructurally they displayed epithelial and glandular differentiation. Omental metastasis had already developed in the patient, and she received postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of cyclophosphamide and cis-platinum. No sign of recurrence was evident 4 months after the operation. The literature is reviewed and the importance of adjuvant chemotherapy in the postoperative management of such patients highlighted. The salient pathologic features differentiating mural nodules of anaplastic carcinoma and true sarcoma from prognostically favorable sarcoma-like nodules are presented.