[Pathomorphological study of metastatic liver tumors]

Pathomorphologic features of metastatic liver tumors were studied in 362 autopsy cases at the Pathology Department of Kurume University Hospital for 7 years, from 1979 to 1985. The incidence of metastasis in cirrhotic liver was found to be 50%, and 45.1% for non-cirrhotic livers. Metastatic liver tumors were roughly classified into 4 categories: a small nodular type, a large nodular type, a mixed small and large nodular type, and an infiltrative type. The large nodular type tumor seemed be the most frequent in a metastasis via the portal vein, and the small nodular type was frequent in a metastasis via the artery. The gross characteristics of a metastatic tumor nodule could be grouped into 3 classifications: a solid type, a central necrosis type, and a mosaic type. The tumor of central necrosis type was frequent in cases of adenocarcinoma, and the solid type tumor was more prevalent in squamous cell carcinoma and free-cell type carcinoma.