Abstract
The variegated characters of the tissue mast cells have been made plain by the studies on histopathology, biochemistry and pharmacology. It has been said that the tissue mast cells play a role in chronic inflammatory disease and they decrease or disappear temporarily in acute inflammatory disease.
Many reports on the behaviour of the tissue mast cells in various disorders have been presented.
The author studied the tissue mast cells in the mammary glands and lymph nodes from 1964 to 1967, at the Department of Surgery, Showa University Hospital. The results obtainde were as follows :
1. The number of tissue mast cells in the apparently normal mammary glands was very large in interlobular connectiue tissues as compared with intralobular connective tissues.
2. In cases of mastopathy, the same relationship was observed.
3. In the fibroadenoma cases, the number of tissue mast cells had distinctly decreased.
4. In cases of breast cancer, there was a great decrease of the tissue mast cells in the cancerous region, but the tissue mast cells were apt to increase around the cancerous lesion.
5. In the lymph nodes with metastasis of breast cancer, there was a consistent decrease of the tissue mast cells in the metastatic lesion and there was an increase around the metastatic lesion.
In the non-metastatic lymph nodes, the tissue mast cells showed a clear increase in comparison with normal lymph nodes.
6. The distinct results on the defence capacity of the tissue mast cells against the malignant tumor were not obtained. Further investigation into this problom is needed.
