Usefulness of preoperative transvaginal ultrasonography for women with advanced gastric carcinoma

OBJECTIVE: Transvaginal ultrasonography (TVUS) is widely used to diagnose diseases in obstetrics and gynecology. We performed TVUS for diagnosing peritoneal dissemination preoperatively in cases of advanced gastric carcinoma in women. METHODS: Thirty-six female patients with advanced gastric carcinoma were investigated in the current study. TVUS was performed for 24 patients. Computed tomography (CT) was done for all of the women, and the sensitivity and specificity in detecting the existence of ascites were compared between the two in preoperative examinations. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of CT in detecting ascites were 46.7%, 100%, 100%, 72.4%, and 77.8%, respectively. The results of TVUS were rated as 80%, 100%, 100%, 87.5%, and 91.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative TVUS is quite significant for predicting the existence of peritonitis carcinomatosa in women with advanced gastric carcinoma. The aim of the current study was to reduce the use of inappropriate and invasive surgical treatments, including exploratory laparotomy, for women with incurable advanced gastric carcinoma.