Surgical biopsy studies of omental and peritoneal nodules

Our plain-English summary of Surgical biopsy studies of omental and peritoneal nodules, by D.B. Walsh, G. Williams (The British Journal of Surgery, 1971).

The study

• Authors: D.B. Walsh, G. Williams
• Journal: The British Journal of Surgery
• Published: 1971;58(6):428-33
• Cited by: 6 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Four hundred and thirty-five biopsy specimens from the peritoneum and omentum submitted for diagnosis in a major teaching hospital over a 17-year period are reviewed. Their histopathology and incidence are recorded in the light of relevant clinical data. Some of the problems in the diagnosis of the lesions and various factors influencing their statistical breakdown are discussed.

PubMed has no abstract for this study. This is the authors' abstract, copied from the article.

In plain English

This article was a review by pathologists at the University of Manchester. They looked at 435 open-biopsy specimens taken from the peritoneum (the lining of the abdomen) and the omentum (a fatty fold inside the abdomen). The specimens were sent for diagnosis at the Manchester Royal Infirmary over a 17-year period. Gynaecological and paediatric specimens were not included. All specimens were re-examined under the microscope. These biopsies made up 0.74 per cent of the 58,776 specimens the laboratory received in that period. Carcinomas (cancers) were the largest group, and about 78 per cent of them were of glandular origin. One of the 5 benign tumours was a mesothelioma of the villous type. It was found by chance on the front wall of the stomach during an operation for another condition. Bacteria were shown in 4 of the 27 tuberculous specimens. Talc was recognised in 4 of the 19 patients with non-tuberculous granulomas. The authors noted that their series had few gynaecological, obstetric or paediatric specimens, a bias in patient selection, and variable biopsy practices. The article does not mention asbestos.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Retrospective review of hospital pathology biopsy specimens (case series)
• Who was studied: 435 biopsy specimens from the peritoneum and omentum submitted for diagnosis at a teaching hospital (Manchester Royal Infirmary) over a 17-year period; gynaecological and paediatric material not included
• Main results:
  • The 435 biopsies were 0.74 per cent of all 58,776 specimens submitted to the laboratory during the period
  • Carcinomas were the largest group; about 78 per cent of them were of glandular origin
  • Among the 5 benign tumours, one was a mesothelioma of the villous type, found incidentally on the anterior stomach wall during an operation for another condition
  • Acid/alcohol-fast bacilli were shown in 4 of the 27 tuberculous specimens
  • Talc was recognised in 4 cases of non-tuberculous granuloma, out of 19 patients with such granulomas
• The authors' conclusion: The authors wrote that distinguishing some inflammatory lesions from more diffuse cancerous infiltrations was one of the main diagnostic difficulties
• Limitations the authors state:
  • Few gynaecological, obstetric and paediatric specimens, because those units were in separate specialist hospitals
  • Bias in patient selection at a teaching hospital that did not serve geriatric and chronically sick patients
  • Individual clinicians varied in whether they took biopsies
  • The absence of some lesions described by others may reflect sampling bias rather than true rarity

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Biopsy, Peritoneum, Omentum, Histopathology.

Related studies

• CT-guided core-needle biopsy in omental pathology — F. Pombo, E. Rodriguez, et al. (1997)
• Extragastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Presenting as Omental Cyst — A. Monabati, M. Safavi, et al. (2016)
• Primary omental mesothelioma: a rare but important differential diagnosis in previous asbestos exposure — A. Harb, E. King, et al. (2010)
• Target region resection in patients undergoing cytoreductive surgery for peritoneal metastases-is it necessary in absence of visible disease? — A. Bhatt, Y. Yonemura, et al. (2020)
• Benign multicystic mesothelioma and peritoneal inclusion cysts: are they the same clinical and histopathological entities? A systematic review to find an evidence-based management — A.M.C. Rapisarda, A. Cianci, et al. (2018)
• Multimodality imaging of common and uncommon peritoneal diseases: a review for radiologists — R.A. Vicens, M. Patnana, et al. (2015)

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