title: Evidence for and against a tumor type-specific vascularity.
abstract: Although there are some implications from experimental rodent tumors that the vascular morphology may be characteristic, but not unique for a special tumor, there is clear evidence that in general the histological type of a tumor and the degree of differentiation can only modulate, but not dictate the vascular pattern. Problems arising when trying to identify a certain tumor on the basis of its vascularity or vice versa are aggravated by considerable intra-tumor inhomogeneities of both vascular structure and function of the vascular bed. The same holds true for an individual tumor at different sizes. As a consequence, it is impossible to draw conclusions concerning the tumor vascularity from a known tumor histology.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006224:Cricetinae; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats