title: Intra-luminal tumour cells and peri-anastomotic tumour growth in experimental colonic surgery.
abstract: Most loco-regional tumour recurrences following colorectal cancer surgery are extra-luminal. This study was designed to determine the conditions necessary for viable intra-luminal tumour cells to give rise to extra-luminal tumour growth in an experimental animal model. When carcinoma cells were injected into the colonic lumen in the absence of a colonic wound, tumour growth was rare (1 of 24 animals). However, when tumour cells were injected intra-luminally either in the presence of an apparently watertight colotomy repair or prior to the transmural insertion of interrupted sutures, peri-anastomotic +/- widespread peritoneal tumour growth was consistently observed. Tumour growth did not occur on the mucosa of the bowel. These findings suggest that viable intra-luminal tumour cells can migrate across a clinically intact experimental large bowel anastomosis or along transmural suture tracts to give rise to extra-luminal tumour growth.
authors.affiliation: University Department of Surgery, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Galloway
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000009:adverse effects; D000818:Animals; D003106:Colon / Q000601:surgery*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D009366:Neoplasm Seeding; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013537:Sutures