Authors: R. Kodet Authors‘ workplace: Department of Pathology, 2nd School of Medicine and Hospital Motol, Prague Published in: Čes.-slov. Patol., , 1998, No. 4, p. 123-131 Category:
The study presents ultrastructural findings in 89 neuroblastic tumors. All of them including 21 undifferentiated neuroblastomas (NB) were characterized by neural cell processes which contai - ned neurofilaments, mitochondria and neurosecretory granules. The granules were generally sparse and their number and distribution was a feature independent on other signs of differentia - tion of the tumor cells. We found degenerative changes in the tumor cell bodies and their neuro - nal processes to be a prominent phenomenon in neuroblastic tumors. Although they occurred both in patients who were operated primarily and in those who received a preoperative chemo - therapy they were most conspicuous in the latter group (28 of 80 patients). The degenerative changes included swelling and dilatations of the neuronal processes, accumulation of heteropha - gosomes, myelinated bodies and cytoskeletal filaments. Some ganglion cells had dilated endoplas - mic reticulum, and contained lipofuscin. In one ganglioneuroblastoma we detected dense granulated bodies resembling neuromelanin. The diagnosis of undifferentiated NB was estab - lished on the basis of ultrastructural investigations in 13 out of 21 undifferentiated NB; in the remaining 8 cases the electron microscopy was an additional confirmatory tool together with the results of immunohistochemical reactions. The electron microscope is still a valuable instrument for diagnosis of neuroblastic tumors in addition to newer diagnostic approaches such as immuno - histochemical and molecular investigations.
Key words: neuroblastoma - ganglioneuroblastoma - ganglioneuroma - ultrastructure - degenerati - ve changes
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