Ultrastructure of hepatic metastases from a colon leiomyosarcoma

The electron microscopic examination of biopsies from liver metastases of a colon leiomyosarcoma showed the existence of alterations not previously reported in primary tumors of that kind. Those abnormalities included proliferation of lysosomal structures as multivesicular bodies, myelin-like figures, lipofuscin granules and autophagic vacuoles, along with mitochondrial changes as concentric and vesiculated cristae, and presence of dense granules and elongated inclusions. This study suggests that, in this tumor and host tissue, the so-called invasive phenotype, which is supposed to form the metastases, could have a distinct morphological picture at the ultrastructural level.