Primary biliary cirrhosis is well known to be morphologically characterized by progressive destruction of the interlobular bile ducts of the liver. In order to know any morphological changes of the ducts which are found prior to their destruction in the livers, serial sections of wedge liver biopsies of 2 cases of early PBC were carefully examined.
Three types of morphological changes were found just before complete disappearance of the bile ducts on the serial sections: 1. periductal cellular reaction (small round cells or epithelioid granuloma), 2. periductal edema, 3. periductal mild fibrosis or non-significant changes. These morphological changes were occasionally associated with cystic dilatation or narrowing of the lumina of the bile ducts.

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In chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis, sometimes the fatstoring cells are increased in number and some of the fatstoring cells are ultrastructurally quite similar to fibroblast, except for fat vacuoles in cytoplasm. Interestingly enough, some of the fibroblasts in portal area have fatty vacuoles in their cytoplasm, resembling to the feature of the fat-storing cell. These findings suggest that fibroblast and fat-storing cell have similar function in helpatic fib rogenesis and fat-storing cell may play an important role in fibrogenesis in intralobular area. In hepatic fibrosis around proliferating bile ductal system, the epithelial cell of the proliferating bile ductal system, as well as fibroblast, seems to be participating in fibrogenesis.

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We have measured estrogens in blood of the patients with chronic schistosomiasis Japonica, and survey was made with the occurrence of splenomegaly.
1) There was a tendency of higher occurrences of splenomegaly in male patien with liver-cirrhosis and female patients with liver fibrosis.
2) Higher estrogens in blood were observed in the patients with liver cirrhosis and liver fibrosis, while all the patients with chronic hepatitis showed the normal range of estrogens.
3) In each group, estmgens in blood of splenomegaly (+) were higher than those of splenomegaly (-) in many cases, while the group of liver cirrhosis showed the higher level in male and female of splenomegaly (+), and the group of liver fibrosis showed higher level in female of splenomegaly (+).
4) As for the relationship with pregnancy, the group of liver cirrhosis showed the less relation, while the group of liver fibrosis showed many cases of splenomegaly (+) with higher incidence of pregnancy and with higher estrogens in blood.

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Data from microcytotoxicity assays of cell-mediated reactivity to three transplantable rat hepatomas, DB-1, DB-2E, and FB, induced by 3'-methyl-dimethyl-aminoazobenzene and N-2-fluorenylacetamide, as well as fetal cells, indicate that rat hepatomas have individually unique tumor antigens as well as antigen(s) shared with the fetal cells. Lymph node cells (LNC) from pregnant rats were cytotoxic to hepatoma cells and to fetal cells alike.
Cell-mediated reactivity against those hepatoma-specific antigens were demonstrated 8 days after inoculation of hepatoma cells to syngeneic rats and it persisted until the tumor nodules became large.
In rats inoculated with 106 hepatoma cells, a palpable nodule was seen after a week and continued to grow slowly for 3-4 weeks, after which they grew more rapidly. Trace amounts of AFP were detected in the sera taken 5 to 14 days after the inoculation and they had increased rapidly by 36 days with the growth of tumor nodule and then increased only little.

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A case of inoperable primary hepatocellular carcinoma in which the tumor tissue was considered to have been completely necrotized by anticancer chemotherapy was presented.
The patient was a 45-year-old male who was admitted to the hospital because of pain in the right upper quadrant. On admission, there was marked hepatomegaly with a positive alpha-fetoprotein. Liver scan revealed an extensive filling defect on the inferolateral side of the right lobe, and hepatic arteriography demonstrated a prominent tumor stain along the branch to the right lobe. After 2 doses of Mitomycin C(10mg) were injected into the proper hepatic artery by intubation and 16 doses of 5-Fluorouracil (250-500mg) and Mitomycin C(4mg), 2 doses per week, were administered intravenously, subjective symptoms and hepatomegaly disappeared. Alpha-fetoprotein test converted to negative and marked improvement was noted in hepatic arteriographic findings. The patient died of acute renal failure about 3 months after cessation of anticancer chemotherapy. Autopsy demonstrated a thickly encapsulated tumor of the right lobe measuring 8×5×7cm, which was found completely necrotized.
It was considered that the patient would have had a long survival if he had been free of complications.

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An autopsy case of primary fibrosarcoma of the liver occurrin in a 36 yea-old female was reported. The patient visited to our hospital because of the gradual onset of epigastralgia and was found to have marked hepatomegaly. Physical and laboratory findings were similar to those of cholangiocellular carcinoma or metastatic carcinoma of the live. She died of hepatic coma atfrer five and one-half months in spite of immunochemotherapy. The liver, weighing 4, 650 g, consisted of multiple, white tumors in both lobes at autopsy. Microscopically, the tumor tissue was composed of interlacing bundles of atypical spindleshaped cells. Special stains fbr connective tissue showed a considerabl amount of collagen between the neoplastic cells.
A review and a critical analysis of the previously reported 8 cases including the present case which were diagnosed by complete studies such as autopsy, spccial stains of tumor tissue and other examinations, are made.

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