Melanoma with signet‐ring cells in a peritoneal effusion

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Abstract
Melanoma may occasionally give rise to a malignant effusion and when this occurs it can present a challenging differential diagnosis. We present such a patient who developed a peritoneal effusion. Cytologic examination of the peritoneal fluid revealed individual malignant cells with prominent cytoplasmic vacuoles raising the possibility of a signet-ring cell adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical studies were indicative of a malignant melanoma. in this case we believe that the cytoplasmic vacuoles may be a degenerative phenomenon and as such may represent another mechanism for the development of a signet-ring morphology in malignant melanoma. © Wiley-Liss, Inc.