Fig. 1.

Different vascular patterns in HCC.

(A) H&E and (B) CD34 immunostaining of HCC tissue sections from explants of patients who have undergone liver transplantation showing a VETC-negative HCC with CD34 staining of capillaries only and no cluster formation; (C) Routine H&E section of a macrotrabecular massive, VETC-positive HCC with black arrows in the inset pointing to endothelial cells; (D) The same macrotrabecular massive, VETC-positive HCC after CD34 immunostaining highlighting a distinct, continuous CD34 endothelial lining around individual tumour clusters; (E) A mixed HCC with an area of VETC (right of image) transitioning to an adjacent area of HCC consisting of capillary staining (left of image); (F) An example of an HCC with marginal VETC pattern where the main locus of VETC is located at the tumour margins (black arrowheads). A-D: 100x magnification; E: 200x magnification; F: 20x magnification.