A malignant adenoma of the adrenal with transformation into sarcomatous tissue / by J.C. Meakin.

  • Meakins, J. C.
Date:
[1908?]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A malignant adenoma of the adrenal with transformation into sarcomatous tissue / by J.C. Meakin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    friable nodules, described above, and is the predominating form of tissue in the perirenal mass; these tumor nodules invade the surrounding tissues. In the kidney substance the nodules of this type are large and ill defined, showing invasive characters. The yellowish nodules have the histological structure of adenoma and are circumscribed. In some of the tumor masses both white and yellow tissue is found, and in these nodules sarcomatous and adeno¬ matous structures are side by side. As a rule, the two types are well isolated by bands of fibrous tissue, but in some places the ade¬ nomatous structures exhibit the loss of alveolar arrangement described above; the cells become spindle-shaped and their nuclei take on an oval form and become paler. A complete transition may be traced in the same tumor from a purely adenomatous structure to one with typical sarcomatous cytology and arrange¬ ment. (Plate III). In accordance with the embryology of the adrenal, all malig¬ nant tumors of the gland should be classed as sarcomata, but from the histology of the normal gland carcinomata might be expected to develop. In the present case the larger masses exhibit the cellular characters of sarcoma. There is, however, evidence to show that these tumors may have had originally a carcinomatous structure, and as the growth progressed the reversion to the meso- thelial or sarcomatous type of cells occurred. In fact such transfor¬ mation or reversion is demonstrated in some of the tumor masses. If these tumors had had opportunity to continue their growth, reversion to sarcomata would, perhaps, have become complete. Jores3 has described a sarcoma of the adrenal in which a direct transition could be traced from the normal adrenal cells to the cells of the sarcoma. In this case metastases in the brain were of the same structure as the main tumor. In another case he describes an alveolar sarcoma of the adrenal which in places resembles slightly the histological structure of carcinoma. On the evidence afforded by these cases Jores believes that all malignant tumors