[A histopathological investigation of metastatic liver tumors--the classification of their histological patterns and metastatic pathways taking into account the microscopic metastatic foci].

A histopathological study of metastatic liver cancers has been performed on 433 autopsied cases at the Shikoku Cancer Center Hospital. With respect to the intrahepatic spread of the metastatic liver carcinomas, their invasion through the portal vein and the sinusoid were separately examined. The histological patterns of the prevalence of the liver metastasis were classified by taking into account both the factors and the prevalence of the nodules. A liver metastasis which was not detected by the naked eye but by microscopy was considered to be an early stage metastasis. All histological characteristics as well as the metastatic pathways also were considered.