The clinical significance of regional variations in histologic differentiation within carcinomas of the colorectum.
The clinical significance of the presence or absence of regional variations in histologic differentiation within a primary colorectal carcinoma was investigated in this study. Regional variations in histologic differentiation were judged to be present when the low power field of a microscope was occupied by cancer tissue cytologically and architecturally different from that of the surrounding area. Regional variations in histologic differentiation were noted in 153 (42%) of 368 primary carcinomas. Carcinomas with regional variations were of an anaplastic histologic type and had a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis and a worse prognosis than those without regional variations. Thus, the histologic diversity within a carcinoma is thought to be important for determining the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer.
First Department of Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine, Japan.
H
H
Kotanagi
T
T
Fukuoka
Y
Y
Shibata
T
T
Yoshioka
O
O
Aizawa
K
K
Koyama
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D002288:Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015996:Survival Rate