title: Malignant fibrous histiocytoma: an ultrastructural study of eleven cases.
abstract: Eleven cases of malignant fibrous histiocytoma were examined electron microscopically. In six of seven cases with storiform-fascicular histologic features and in two cases with a myxoid pattern, no malignant-appearing histiocyte-like cells were identified. The neoplastic cells were fibroblasts and myofibroblasts, occasionally admixed with lymphocytes and benign-appearing histiocytes. Only in the other three cases (two pleomorphic sarcomas and one tumor with a storiform-fascicular pattern) were malignant cells with the features of histiocytes identified. The authors propose that some neoplasms with a storiform-fascicular pattern would be more accurately classified as fibrosarcomas than as histiocytomas and speculate on the possible histogenesis of those tumors that do contain histiocyte-type cells.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006644:Histiocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018219:Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013977:Tibia