Dura Metastasis: Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The most common tumors found in the central nervous system and dura (i.e. the dense fibrous covering that envelops the brain) are those that have traveled from other body sites in a process called metastasis.  Depicted here is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a cancer of liver cells, that has metastasized to the dura overlying the anterior pole of the right frontal lobe. Microscopically, the neoplastic liver cells were well-to-moderately differentiated and still able to produce bile, which is responsible for the green discoloration of the neoplasm.  In this case, the neoplasm did not yet invade into the brain and was able to be easily “popped” away from the underlying cerebral cortex.