Cytology of hepatocellular carcinoma in serous fluids: a report of three cases.

Three cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) detected in serous fluids are reported. Two cases were detected in ascitic fluid and one case was identified in pleural fluid of a patient with widespread disease. The cytopathologic findings correlated well with the histologic type in each case. One case each of moderately differentiated, poorly differentiated, and fibrolamellar HCC were seen. In general, the fluids contained large polygonal cells, singly and in small clusters with large vesicular, occasionally multiple nuclei and prominent nucleoli. The current literature describing HCC in serous fluids is sparse. The identification of this tumor in serous fluids would allow diagnosis of new or recurrent disease and have implications for therapy.