Primary peritoneal carcinoma

This page tells you about primary peritoneal carcinoma. The peritoneum is a sheet of body tissue that lines the inside of the tummy (abdomen). Primary peritoneal carcinoma is cancer that starts in this tissue or in the fallopian tube and then like ovarian cancer, spreads to the peritoneum.  The fallopian tubes are the tubes that guide eggs from the ovary to the womb.

The peritoneum helps to protect the contents of the abdomen. It also produces a lubricating fluid. This helps the organs to move smoothly inside the abdomen as we move around.

Primary peritoneal cancer behaves very much like the most common type of ovarian cancer called epithelial cancer. This is because the lining of the abdomen and the surface of the ovary come from the same tissue when we develop from embryos in the womb. So primary peritoneal cancer and ovarian cancer have similar symptoms, look identical under a microscope, and are treated in much the same way.

Symptoms for primary peritoneal cancer can be very vague and difficult to spot, especially when it is in its early stages. Many of the symptoms are more likely to be caused by other medical conditions.

There is information about the symptoms and treatment of ovarian cancer in the ovarian cancer section of CancerHelp UK. If you do have any of these symptoms, do go to your doctor and get a check up.