The epithelial origin of giant cell carcinoma of the lung confirmed by tissue culture. Report of a case

✍ Scribed by Luciano Ozzello; Arthur Purdy Stout

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1961
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 504 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/1097-0142(196109/10)14:5<1052::aid-cncr2820140521>3.0.co;2-d

✦ Synopsis

ASH AND STOUT7 in 1958 reported 5 cases of N primary pulmonary malignant tumors for which they suggested the name of "giant cell carcinoma" of the lung. T h e lesion had been hitherto unrecognized as such although some authors mentioned sporadically the occurrence of neoplastic giant cells in otherwise common types of lung carcinoma.5.*,10

Histologically, this tumor is characterized by extreme anaplasia of the cells, which exhibit a great deal of pleomorphism. Very striking is the presence of a varying number of bizarre, large cells, usually multinucleated. These cells stand out on a background of anaplastic mononucleated cells that are either round or spindle shaped. Their cytoplasm is dark eosinophilic, and the nuclei present coarse chromatin, prominent nucleoli, and irregular shape. In addition, many of the tumor cells show evidence of phagocytosis. Differential tissue stains (Masson's trichrome, Mallory's phosphotungstic acid hematoxylin, reticulum stains) do not reveal any suggestion of myofibrils, cross striations, or reticulin fiber formation by the tumor cells.