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General and Systemic Histopathology, C601&C602
     
    Slide 63: Liver with hepatocellular carcinoma
     
     
    I think it is possible to see the nodules of malignancy even with no magnification.  If nothing else, you can see areas of the liver tissue are distinctly different from one another.

    See this slide with the virtual microscope.

    This cancer generally arises in a background of  cirrhosis and represents a primary malignancy of the hepatocyte. You will see there is no lobular organization in the area of the tumor. Note the marked degree of nuclear atypia and the great number of mitoses. You are also likely to see many bizarre mitotic figures. There may be bile production by the malignant cells, but of course, there are no biliary hookups. This is a malignancy of hepatocyte origin, and is different from so called biliary carcinoma, which arises from the ductal elements of the liver (or pancreas for that matter).


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