title: Spread of rectal cancer within veins. Histologic features and clinical significance.
abstract: Histologic evidence of venous invasion was demonstrated in 52 percent of 703 cases of rectal carcinoma. Quantitation of venous invasion and follow-up study showed that invasion of extramural veins was associated with a low 5 year survival rate (33 percent), whereas invasion limited to intramural veins was not. Spread into thick-walled extramural veins carries a very poor prognosis (15 of 91 patients survived 5 years). The corrected 5 year survival rate for stage C patients with invasion of thick-walled extramural veins was only 8 percent. Host reactions in and around the walls of invaded veins increase the survival rate; inflammatory damage to the vein walls and endarteritis obliterans are particularly important in this respect.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000473:pathology*; D014680:Veins / Q000473:pathology*