Molecular Pathology of Hepatic Neoplasms: Classification and Clinical Significance

Figure 5

Hypothetical classification of primary hepatic malignancies according to corresponding patterns of hepatic progenitor cell differentiation. Dashed lines illustrate possible lineages of tumor origin and evolution. At left is well-differentiated HCC, with a mature hepatocytic phenotype (orange), and at right is cholangiocarcinoma, showing complete biliary differentiation (green). Varying degrees and patterns of expression of progenitor cell markers (purple) and biliary-type cytokeratins (CK7, CK19) correlate with increased tumor aggressiveness.