Anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid gland. An ultrastructural study on four cases.

Four cases of anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid, composed of one small cell carcinoma and three giant cell carcinomas, were studied with electron microscope. In the case of small cell carcinoma, fine cytoplasmic interdigitations and junctional complex between apposing cytoplasmic membranes of neighbouring tumor cells and a few microlumina within tumor cell clusters surrounded by well-defined basal lamina were seen. In the cases of giant cell carcinoma, occasional cytoplasmic interdigitations as well as desmosomal structures were detected even in tumor cells markedly pleomorphic and anaplastic. Abundant cytoplasmic organelles including profiles of Golgi apparatus, rough endoplasmic reticulum and a few mitochondria were seen in the cytoplasm of tumor cell of all four cases. Of interest to note was that all giant cell carcinomas demonstrated evidences of fairly well differentiated tumor within anaplastic carcinoma, indicating probable pre-existing either benign or malignant epithelial neoplasm more differentiated, with its subsequent anaplastic transformation. Findings in the present study support an assumption that these anaplastic tumors are derived from the follicular epithelium of the thyroid gland. In addition, it can be said that tumor cells of the small cell carcinoma provide evidences suggesting functional differentiation of carcinoma cells to a certain extent, yet unable to produce thyroglobulin.