Cytologic features of serous carcinoma are:

- Marked intragroup nuclear pleomorphism.

- Macronucleoli.

- "Knobby" group borders (in large groups).

- Hydropic vacuoles.

Symptoms of serous carcinoma may include:

- Discomfort/pain or bloating in abdomen

- Frequent urination

- Weight loss

Benign and borderline variants of this neoplasm are rare, and most cases are malignant.

These tumors may have a worse prognosis than serous tumors.

Papillary serous cystadenocarcinomas may exhibit psammoma bodies upon histopathology.

Typically, they are cystic neoplasms with polypoid masses that protrude into the cyst. On microscopic pathological examination, they are composed of cells with clear cytoplasm (that contains glycogen) and "hob nail" cells (from which the glycogen has been secreted). The pattern may be glandular, papillary or solid.

The differential diagnosis of serous carcinoma not otherwise specified includes:

- Ovarian serous carcinoma, a type of ovarian cancer.

- Uterine serous carcinoma, also known as "uterine papillary serous carcinoma", a type of uterine cancer.

- Fallopian tube serous carcinoma, a type of uterine tube cancer.

- Cervical serous carcinoma, a rare type of cervical cancer.

- Primary peritoneal serous carcinoma, a very rare cancer that arise from the peritoneum.

There has been the suggestion that the above diagnoses really represent one entity.

The signs and symptoms are similar to other cervical cancers and may include post-coital bleeding and/or pain during intercourse (dyspareunia). Early lesions may be completely asymptomatic.

The lesion is found in patients who present typically with abnormal or postmenopausal bleeding or discharge. Such bleeding is followed by further evaluation leading to a tissue diagnosis, usually done by a dilatation and curettage (D&C). A work-up to follow would look for metastasis using imaging technology including sonography and MRI. The median age at diagnosis in a large study was 66 years. Histologically the lesion may coexist with classical endometrial cancer.

Serous cystadenocarcinoma is a type of tumor in the cystadenocarcinoma grouping.

Most commonly the primary site of serous cystadenocarcinoma is the ovary. Rare occurrence in the pancreas has been reported, although this is not typical, with the majority of microcystic pancreatic masses representing alternate disease processes such as the more benign serous cystadenoma.

PUNLMPs can lead to blood in the urine (hematuria) or may be asymptomatic.

Papillary serous cystadenocarcinomas are the most common form of malignant ovarian cancer making up 26 percent of ovarian tumours in women aged over 20 in the United States.

As with most ovarian tumours, due to the lack of early signs of disease these tumours can be large when discovered and have often metastasized, often by spreading along the peritoneum.

Pathologists classify intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) into two broad groups - those that are associated with an invasive cancer and those that are not associated with an invasive cancer. This separation has critical prognostic significance. Patients with a surgically resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm without an associated invasive cancer have an excellent prognosis (>95% will be cured), while patients with a surgically resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with an associated invasive cancer have a worse prognosis. Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms without an associated invasive cancer can be further subcategorized into three groups. They are IPMN with low-grade dysplasia, IPMN with moderate dysplasia, and IPMN with high-grade dysplasia. This categorization is less important than the separation of IPMNs with an associated cancer from IPMNs without an associated invasive cancer, but this categorization is useful as IPMNs are believed to progress from low-grade dysplasia to moderate dysplasia to high-grade dysplasia to an IPMN with an associated invasive cancer.

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is a type of tumor that can occur within the cells of the pancreatic duct. IPMN tumors produce mucus, and this mucus can form pancreatic cysts. Although intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms are benign tumors, they can progress to pancreatic cancer. As such IPMN is viewed as a precancerous condition. Once an intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm has been found, the management options include close monitoring and pre-emptive surgery.

In urologic pathology, PUNLMP, short for papillary urothelial neoplasm of low malignant potential, is an exophytic (outward growing), (microscopically) nipple-shaped (or papillary) pre-malignant growth of the lining of the upper genitourinary tract (the urothelium), which includes the renal pelvis, ureters, urinary bladder and part of the urethra.

"PUNLMP" is pronounced "pun"-"lump", like the words "pun" and "lump".

As their name suggests, PUNLMPs are neoplasms, i.e. clonal cellular proliferations, that are thought to have a low probability of developing into urothelial cancer, i.e. a malignancy such as bladder cancer.

Primary peritoneal cancer or carcinoma is also known as serous surface papillary carcinoma, primary peritoneal carcinoma, extra-ovarian serous carcinoma, primary serous papillary carcinoma, psammomacarcinoma. It was historically classified under "carcinoma of unknown primary" (CUP). Primary peritoneal cancer (PPC, or PPCa) is a cancer of the cells lining the peritoneum, or abdominal cavity.

Some studies indicate that up to 15% of serous ovarian cancers are thought to be actually primary peritoneal carcinomas in origin.

Histomorphological and molecular biological characteristics suggest that serous carcinomas, which include ovarian serous carcinoma, uterine serous carcinoma, Fallopian tube serous carcinoma, cervical serous carcinoma, and primary peritoneal serous carcinoma really represent one entity.

Uterine serous carcinoma (USC), also known as uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) and uterine serous adenocarcinoma, is an uncommon form of endometrial cancer that typically arises in postmenopausal women.

It is typically diagnosed on endometrial biopsy, prompted by post-menopausal bleeding.

Unlike the more common low-grade "endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma", USC does not develop from endometrial hyperplasia and is not hormone-sensitive. It arises in the setting of endometrial atrophy and is classified as a type II endometrial cancer.

Pathologists classify serous cystic neoplasms into two broad groups. Those that are benign, that have not spread to other organs, are designated "serous cystadenoma". Serous cystadenomas can be further sub-typed into microcystic, oligocystic (or macrocystic), solid, mixed serous-endocrine neoplasm, and VHL-associated serous cystic neoplasm. This latter classification scheme is useful because it highlights the range of appearances and the clinical associations of these neoplasms. Serous cystic neoplasms that have spread ("metastasized") to another organ are considered malignant and are designated "serous cystadenocarcinoma".

Epithelial-stromal tumors are classified on the basis of the epithelial cell type, the relative amounts of epithelium and stroma, the presence of processes, and the location of the epithelial elements. Microscopic pathological features determine whether a surface epithelial-stromal tumor is benign, borderline, or malignant (evidence of malignancy and stromal invasion). Borderline tumors are of uncertain malignant potential.

This group consists of serous, mucinous, endometrioid, clear cell, and brenner (transitional cell) tumors, though there are a few mixed, undifferentiated and unclassified types.

Due to the diverse nature of salivary gland tumours, many different terms and classification systems have been used. Perhaps the most widely used currently is that system proposed by the World Health Organization in 2004, which classifies salivary neoplasms as primary or secondary, benign or malignant, and also by tissue of origin. This system defines five broad categories of salivary gland neoplasms:

Benign epithelial tumors

- Pleomorphic adenoma

- Warthin's tumor

- Myoepithelioma

- Basal cell adenoma

- Oncocytoma

- Canalicular adenoma

- Lymphadenoma

- "Sebaceous lymphadenoma"

- "Nonsebaceous lymphadenoma"

- Ductal papilloma

- "Inverted ductal papilloma"

- "Intraductal papilloma"

- "Sialadenoma papilliferum"

- Cystadenoma

- Malignant epithelial tumors

- Acinic cell carcinoma

- Mucoepidermoid carcinoma

- Adenoid cystic carcinoma

- Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma

- Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma

- Clear cell carcinoma, not otherwise specified

- Basal cell adenocarcinoma

- Sebaceous carcinoma

- Sebaceous lymphadenocarcinoma

- Cystadenocarcinoma

- Low-grade cribriform cystadenocarcinoma

- Mucinous adenocarcinoma

- Oncocytic carcinoma

- Salivary duct carcinoma

- Salivary duct carcinoma, not otherwise specified

- Adenocarcinoma, not otherwise specified

- Myoepithelial carcinoma

- Carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma

- Mammary analogue secretory carcinoma

- Carcinosarcoma

- Metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma

- Squamous cell carcinoma

- Large cell carcinoma

- Lymphoepithelial carcinoma

- Sialoblastoma

- Soft tissue tumors

- Hemangioma

- Hematolymphoid tumors

- Hodgkin lymphoma

- Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

- Extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma

- Secondary tumors (i.e. a tumor which has metastasized to the salivary gland from a distant location)

Others, not included in the WHO classification above, include:

- Intraosseous (central) salivary gland tumors

- Hybrid tumors (i.e. a tumor displaying combined forms of histologic tumor types)

- Hybrid carcinoma

- Others

- Others

- Keratocystoma

- Sialolipoma

"Benign" serous tumours are unilocular (have one lobe); however if very large may be multilocular, contain clear fluid and have a smooth lining composed of columnar epithelial cells with cilia. On gross examination, the serous tumor may present as either a cystic lesion in which the papillary epithelium is contained within a few fibrous walled cysts, or the papillary projections may be away from the surface epithelium. Surgery is curative.

Serous tumours are part of the surface epithelial-stromal tumour group of ovarian neoplasms, which derive from Mullerian epithelium.

They are common neoplasms with a strong tendency to bilaterality, and they account for 50% of all ovarian tumours.

Sixty percent are benign (cystadenoma), 10% are borderline and 30% are malignant (cystadenocarcinoma).

Villoglandular adenocarcinoma of the cervix, also villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma, papillary villoglandular adenocarcinoma and well-differentiated villoglandular adenocarcinoma, abbreviated VGA, is a rare type of cervical cancer that, in relation to other cervical cancers, is typically found in younger women and has a better prognosis.

A similar lesion, "villoglandular adenocarcinoma of the endometrium", may arise from the inner lining of the uterus, the endometrium.

Surface epithelial-stromal tumors are a class of ovarian neoplasms that may be benign or malignant. Neoplasms in this group are thought to be derived from the ovarian surface epithelium (modified peritoneum) or from endometrial or Fallopian tube (tubal) tissue. Tumors of this type are also called ovarian adenocarcinoma. This group of tumors accounts for 90% to 95% of all cases of ovarian cancer. Serum CA-125 is often elevated but is only 50% accurate so it is not a useful tumor marker to assess the progress of treatment.

Pancreatic serous cystadenoma, also known as serous cystadenoma of the pancreas and serous microcystic adenoma, a benign tumour of pancreas. It is usually found in the head of the pancreas, and may be associated with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.

In contrast to some of the other cyst-forming tumors of the pancreas (such as the intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm and the mucinous cystic neoplasm), serous cystic neoplasms are almost always entirely benign. There are some exceptions; rare case reports have described isolated malignant serous cystadenocarcinomas. In addition, serous cystic neoplasms slowly grow, and if they grow large enough they can press on adjacent organs and cause symptoms.

Uterine clear-cell carcinoma (CC) is a rare form of endometrial cancer with distinct morphological features on pathology; it is aggressive and has high recurrence rate. Like uterine papillary serous carcinoma CC does not develop from endometrial hyperplasia and is not hormone sensitive, rather it arises from an atrophic endometrium. Such lesions belong to the type II endometrial cancers.

Appendix cancer or appendiceal cancers are rare malignancies of the vermiform appendix.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors are rare tumors with malignant potential. Primary lymphomas can occur in the appendix. Breast cancer, colon cancer, and tumors of the female genital tract may metastasize to the appendix.