A case of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. Ultrastructural and lipid-biochemical studies

A case of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was studied electron microscopically and lipid biochemically. Electron microscopic examination revealed that the tumor was composed of three different types of cells, undifferentiated cells, cells possessing lamellar inclusion bodies within the cytoplasm, and cells containing mucus droplets. The characteristic findings in the phospholipid profiles of this case of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma were a high content of saturated classes of phosphatidylcholine, especially of the dipalmitoyl type, and the occurrence of appreciable amounts of phosphatidylglycerol. These observations indicate that some of the tumor cells examined in this study had the characteristic feature of alveolar type II cell differentiation which is responsible for production of pulmonary surface-active materials. The value of phospholipid analysis in assessing such tumors is emphasized.