Globular cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in a metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma of the iliac bone.

Globular filamentous bodies are one of the well-known inclusion bodies in hepatocellular carcinoma. The article describes a 56-year-old man with an occult hepatocellular carcinoma in whom the first histologic diagnosis was made from a biopsy from bone. Ultrastructural examination showed many globular filamentous bodies similar to Mallory bodies. The ultrastructural findings and the diagnostic value of these filamentous bodies are discussed.