Endometrial carcinoma presenting with ascites

Three examples of endometrial carcinoma presenting with ascites are reported. The patients were in the eighth decade, had no vaginal bleeding, and were considered to have ovarian cancer preoperatively. Laparotomy revealed gross omental tumor and normal appearing ovaries. The endometrial cancers were grossly undetected and were uniformly noninvasive of the myometrium. They projected into the uterine cavity, two in polyps, and one covering a submucous leiomyoma. The fallopian tubes were the most likely route of spread to the abdominal cavity.