title: Correlation between peritoneal lavage cytology and tumour stage in patients with colorectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Complete surgical removal of the involved bowel segment in colorectal cancer is the most effective primary treatment. The main prognostic factors for colorectal cancer are penetration of the tumour into different layers of the bowel wall and regional lymph node involvement. Positive lavage cytology has been used to predict peritoneal recurrence, but its effectiveness remains controversial. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of positive peritoneal lavage cytology in correlation with the tumour stage in patients with colorectal cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prospective cross-sectional study was performed on 20 patients with different cases of colorectal cancer attending the colorectal unit and emergency department of the Kasr Al Ainy Hospital, Cairo University Hospitals, from March 2012 to March 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients' gender did not influence the peritoneal lavage cytology results (p = 0.062); there is no significant correlation between the TNM staging system and cytology in patients with colorectal cancer (p = 0.253).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although there is a positive linear correlation between the tumour stage and positive peritoneal lavage cytology, it did not reach a statistically significant level. In addition, the greater the depth of invasion, the higher the lavage cytology rate. However, this trend was not statistically significant.
authors.affiliation: Cairo University, Faculty of Medicine, General Surgery Department, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: hanymikhail@kasralainy.edu.eg.
authors.forename: Hany M S
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Mikhail
authors.affiliation: Cairo University, Faculty of Medicine, General Surgery Department, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Abdrabou N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Mashhour
authors.affiliation: Cairo University, Faculty of Medicine, General Surgery Department, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Sameh G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: AbdElghany
authors.affiliation: Cairo University, Faculty of Medicine, General Surgery Department, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ahmed F A
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Farag
authors.affiliation: Cairo University, Faculty of Medicine, Pathology Department, Cairo, Egypt.
authors.forename: Amal A M
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hareedy
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003581:Cytodiagnosis / Q000379:methods*; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010529:Peritoneal Cavity / Q000166:cytology; D010533:Peritoneal Lavage; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Colorectal cancer; Peritoneal lavage cytology; TNM staging