BACKGROUND: Sarcomas presenting as malignant effusions are rare, and diagnosing them on fluid cytology requires expertise and clinicoradiological correlation as cells undergo morphological changes, mimicking carcinoma or mesothelioma.
METHODS: We present a case of a 70-year-old man with abdominal distention and pain, initially suggestive of carcinoma on peritoneal fluid cytology. However, subsequent analysis with immunohistochemistry on the cell block revealed diffuse nuclear positivity for MDM2, leading to the diagnosis of dedifferentiated liposarcoma.
CONCLUSIONS: The cytological diagnosis of dedifferentiated liposarcoma is challenging and requires a high index of suspicion, with clinicoradiological correlation. Utilizing immunohistochemistry on cell block samples enhances diagnostic accuracy and guides appropriate patient management.

Endometriosis is a chronic disease affecting 6-10% of women of reproductive age. It is an important cause of infertility and chronic pelvic pain with poorly understood aetiology. CD8+ T (CD8 T) cells were shown to be linked to infertility and chronic pain and play a significant role in lesion clearance in other pathologies, yet their function in endometriosis is unknown. We systematically evaluated the literature on the CD8 T in peripheral blood and endometriosis-associated tissues to determine the current understanding of their pathophysiological and clinical relevance in the disease and associated conditions (e.g. infertility and pelvic pain).
Four databases were searched (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL), from database inception until September 2022, for papers written in the English language with database-specific relevant terms/free-text terms from two categories: CD8 T cells and endometriosis. We included peer-reviewed papers investigating CD8 T cells in peripheral blood and endometriosis-associated tissues of patients with surgically confirmed endometriosis between menarche and menopause, and animal models with oestrous cycles. Studies enrolling participants with other gynaecological pathologies (except uterine fibroids and tubal factor infertility used as controls), cancer, immune diseases, or taking immune or hormonal therapy were excluded.
28 published case-control studies and gene set analyses investigating CD8 T cells in endometriosis were included. Data consistently indicate that CD8 T cells are enriched in endometriotic lesions in comparison to eutopic endometrium, with no differences in peripheral blood CD8 T populations between patients and healthy controls. Evidence on CD8 T cells in peritoneal fluid and eutopic endometrium is conflicting. CD8 T cell cytotoxicity was increased in the menstrual effluent of patients, and genomic analyses have shown a clear trend of enriched CD8 T effector memory cells in the eutopic endometrium of patients.
Literature on CD8 T cells in endometriosis-associated tissues is inconsistent. Increased CD8 T levels are found in endometriotic lesions, however, their activation potential is understudied in all relevant tissues. Future research should focus on identifying clinically relevant phenotypes to support the development of non-invasive diagnostic and treatment strategies.
PROSPERO identifier CRD42021233304.

To assess whether endometriosis (EMs) was related to systematic and/or local deviations of cluster of differentiation (CD)4 + T cells.
Until November 2022, we enrolled a total of 1363 EMs and 1564 healthy women from 32 studies who met the inclusion criteria.
After systematically retrieving the literature, we identified 1086 citations and 32 case-control studies were enrolled. Cumulative results suggested that there were insignificant deviations of CD4 + T cells during peripheral blood (PB) between EMs and healthy women (RR: - 0.83, I2 = 99%, p = 0.65), also no statistically significant difference was found between mild and severe EMs (RR: 3.19, I2 = 94%, p = 0.19). We also found insignificant deviations of CD4 + /CD8 + during PB between EMs and healthy women (RR: 0.09, I2 = 99%, p = 0.39), and between mild and severe EMs (RR: - 0.16, I2 = 99%, p = 0.29). The results might suggest that there was no significant correlation between EMs and systematic deviations of CD4 + T cells. When it came to local deviation during peritoneal fluid (PF), the polled results suggested that the frequency of CD4 + T cells during EMs was significantly lower than healthy women (RR: - 5.38, I2 = 93%, p = 0.01), and the ratio of CD4 + /CD8 + during EMs was significantly lower than healthy women (RR: - 0.13, I2 = 0%, p < 0.0001). However, there were insignificant deviations of CD4 + during PF between mild and severe EMs (RR: 1.65, I2 = 53%, p = 0.15), also there was an insignificant difference of CD4 + /CD8 + between mild and severe EMs (RR: - 0.09, I2 = 14%, p = 0.19). EMs might be closely related to local deviations of CD4 + T cells.
There was no obvious correlation between EMs and systematic deviations of CD4 + T cells, EMs might be closely related to local deviations of CD4 + T cells. Further study on the functional deviations and subpopulation distribution of CD4 + T cells is urgently needed.

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition, affecting mainly women of reproductive age. Leptin is a regulator of food intake and energy expenditure, posing pleiotropic actions, and regulating immunity and fertility. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding leptin concentrations in biological fluids and tissues of women with endometriosis, and to investigate and propose a possible role of leptin in the pathophysiology of endometriosis.
METHODS: A systematic search of the literature was conducted in two electronic databases (MEDLINE, COCHRANE) and grey literature for original research articles on humans, published in any language.
RESULTS: Twenty-nine studies with 1291 women with endometriosis and 1664 controls were included in the systematic review. Peritoneal fluid and follicular fluid leptin concentrations were higher in endometriosis compared with control group [mean difference (MD) 7.10, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 4.76 to 9.44 ng/mL, 18 studies), (MD 1.35, 95 % CI 0.54-2.17 ng/ml, 2 studies) respectively. No differences were evident in serum (MD 0.92, 95 % CI -0.84 to 2.68 ng/mL, 12 studies) or plasma (MD -0.95, 95 % CI -4.63 to 2.72 ng/mL, 3 studies) between the groups. No meta-analysis was conducted for ovarian tissue leptin (2 studies).
CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provided evidence for increased leptin concentrations in both peritoneal fluid and follicular fluid of women with endometriosis compared with control; these differences were not present in the serum or plasma. The above results support a potential pathophysiologic role for leptin in the local microenvironment while declines its use as a blood diagnostic marker. Furthermore, we propose a possible role of leptin in the pathophysiology of endometriosis.

The role of leptin in the development of endometriosis has been investigated previously. However, researches on the change of leptin levels in endometriosis remains controversial. So, we aimed to clarify changes of leptin levels in patients with endometriosis and their association with the progression of endometriosis. We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library to identify relevant studies published before May 25, 2020. The detected levels of leptin in patients with endometriosis versus controls were evaluated in this meta-analysis. Eighteen studies met our inclusion criteria, five studies detected serum, nine detected peritoneal fluid and another four detected both serum and peritoneal fluid leptin levels. The overall results showed that peritoneal fluid leptin levels in patients with endometriosis was significantly higher than that in the control group, but the serum and corrected peritoneal fluid leptin levels were comparable in both groups. Subgroup analysis failed to eliminate the high degree of heterogeneity included in the studies and showed that peritoneal fluid leptin levels were significantly elevated in both early and advanced endometriosis. In conclusion, peritoneal fluid rather than serum leptin levels was elevated in patients with endometriosis, which did not seem to be related to the severity of endometriosis, but was related to body mass index.

The poor survival of patients with resectable pancreatic cancer might be related to the presence of occult peritoneal tumor cells (OPTC). This systematic review studies the prognostic value of cytology and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) by real-time polymerase chain reaction in peritoneal fluid. The results suggest that presence of OPTC is related to a worse survival in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer. Future studies should investigate its possible role in selecting patients for specific treatment strategies. J. Surg. Oncol. 2016;114:743-751. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

OBJECTIVE: There has been recent interest in the measurement of peritoneal fluid cytokines in the early postoperative period to help diagnose anastomotic leakage at a preclinical stage. The currently available literature on the early diagnosis of colorectal anastomotic leakage by estimation of drain fluid cytokines or matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) is reviewed.
METHODS: A literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE and the Cochrane library for all publications studying the feasibility of diagnosing colorectal anastomotic leakage earlier by estimation of peritoneal fluid cytokine or MMP levels. A meta-analysis of the most commonly measured cytokines was performed.
RESULTS: Eight publications were included. Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were most frequently studied. Most studies found significantly higher levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in patients with anastomotic leakage during the first three postoperative days. In the meta-analysis IL-6 levels were significantly higher from day 1 and TNF-α from day 2. MMP-9 was most often significantly elevated in patients with anastomotic leakage.
CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of drain fluid cytokines and MMP has the potential to diagnose colorectal anastomotic leakage at a preclinical stage, but is not yet ready for clinical use. Further research is needed, possibly using IL-6 in combination with other cytokines and MMP as markers.