Histological Growth Patterns of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Macroscopically, HCC grows in either an infiltrative or an expansive pattern. The growth patterns at the tumor-nontumor boundary, however, can be histologically divided into two basic categories, sinusoidal and replacing. Occasionally, a lesion is encountered that pushes normal hepatic cells ahead of it as it grows—although it is primarily of the replacing type—because of the predominance of expansive growth. In such lesions, a pseudocapsule of reticulin fibers is formed, concentrated along the boundary (pseudocapsular growth). These lesions are classified separately and designated pseudocapsular.