Premium
Growth pattern in the muscular layer reflects the biological behaviour of colorectal cancer
Author(s) -
Ueno H.,
Hase K.,
Hashiguchi Y.,
Ishiguro M.,
Kajiwara Y.,
Shimazaki H.,
Mochizuki H.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
colorectal disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.029
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1463-1318
pISSN - 1462-8910
DOI - 10.1111/j.1463-1318.2008.01718.x
Subject(s) - medicine , colorectal cancer , anaplasia , pathology , lymphovascular invasion , immunostaining , metastasis , motility , stage (stratigraphy) , immunohistochemistry , cancer , cd34 , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , stem cell , paleontology
Objective To determine the clinical value of evaluating the cancer morphology in muscularis propria (MP) for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Method A total of 994 patients with advanced CRC were reviewed in terms of two distinctive growth patterns in the MP: (i) horizontal spread between the circular and longitudinal muscle layers (H‐spread) and (ii) ‘streaming’ spread between the muscle bundles of the circular muscle layer (S‐spread). Results The incidence of H‐spread ( n = 153) and S‐spread ( n = 150) showed a positive correlation with tumour‐node‐metastasis (TNM) stage and both exerted a negative impact on postoperative survival. Adverse morphology in the MP (H‐spread and/or S‐spread) was consistent with a high grade of vascular invasion and budding in the extramural layer, as also with unfavourable fibrotic stromas in the reactive fibrous zone; the 5‐year survival rate in patients with such features was 64.2%, which was lower than that in those without (86.5%, P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that adverse morphology was an independent prognostic determinant, along with T‐ and N ‐stage. As the mode of H‐spread, perineural invasion in the myenteric plexus was found to be predominant over lymphatic spread on the basis of S100 and CD34 immunostaining, but neural cell adhesion molecule expression, whether on cancer cells or on neural cells, was not significant for this growth pattern. Conclusion A particular group of CRCs ingeniously utilizes the thin space between muscle fascicles for development in the MP. Although the biological mechanism remains unknown, this distinctive growth pattern could be a useful indicator to identify CRC patients at high risk of recurrence.