Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 9:291-298 (1979)
© 1979 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research
case-report |
A Case of Hamartomatous AdiposityA Rare Type of Goiter
Department of Surgery, Gunma University School of Medicine Maebashi
Received April 12, 1979; A rare case of hamartomatous adiposity of the thyroid occurring in a 4-year-old Japanese boy was studied by light and electron microscopy. This tumor-like disorder was composed of predominantly adipose tissue and fibrous connective tissue with muscle fibers but only a small amount of thyroid follicles at the periphery. The ultrastructural appearance showed corresponding features of mature fat cells, fibroblasts and other mesenhymal cells in various grades of differentiation, and especially of striated muscle cells with myofilaments having electron-dense Z-lines. The findings suggest that this tumor is a hamartomatous or heterotopic disorder caused by histogenetic malformation during embryonal development rather than a true neoplasm.