Since the report, which described the ultrastructure of a metastatic nodule of human breast cancer after estrogen therapy, additional ultrastructural observations, including some which are correlative with pertinent findings in the literature concerning mycoplasmas, have been recorded concerning the same subject. Specimen preparation was identical to that in.The mitochondria possessed few cristae, and were deteriorated and vacuolated. They often contained particulates and fibrous structures, sometimes arranged in spindle-shaped bundles, Fig. 1. Another apparent aberration was the occurrence, Fig. 2 (arrows) of linear profiles of what seems to be SER, which lie between layers of RER, and are often recognizably continuous with them.It was noted that the structure of the round bodies, interpreted as within autophagic vacuoles in the previous communication, and of vesicular bodies, described morphologically closely resembled those of some mycoplasmas. Specifically, they simulated or reflected the various stages of replication reported for mycoplasmas grown on solid nutrient. Based on this observation, they are referred to here as “mycoplasma-like” structures, in anticipation of confirmatory evidence from investigations now in progress.
Systemic Spread Is an Early Step in Breast Cancer