Diagnosis of human tumors. Case 1: Hepatocarcinoma, fibrolamellar type

A Light Microscopic and Ultrastructural Study of Two Cases of Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma

We describe two cases of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma of the liver in two young women. Both patients presented with diffuse intra-abdominal metastases; nevertheless they had a survival of 28 and 32 months, respectively, which sustains the better prognosis of this neoplasm. Electron microscopy of one case confirmed the oncocytic features of the neoplastic cells and showed intra- and intercellular duct-like vacuoles with numerous microvilli containing a microfilament core that terminated in a terminal web, which represents an unusual aspect in the spectrum of differentiation of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma.

Ground glasslike hepatocytes produced by glycogen-membrane complexes ("glycogen bodies")

A 54-year-old man developed liver disease 11 months after renal transplantation. Liver biopsy demonstrated hepatitis with numerous periodic acid-Schiff-positive, diastase-sensitive ground glass inclusions in parenchymal cells. Electron microscopy revealed that the inclusions consisted of parallel arrays of smooth surfaced cisternae separated by glycogen rosettes ("glycogen bodies"). The differential diagnosis of ground glass hepatocytes, the occurrence of glycogen bodies, and the possible etiological factors in the patient's liver disease are discussed.