Tumor budding and survival after potentially curative resection of node-positive colon cancer.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tumor budding and other pathology features and overall survival after resection of clinicopathological stage III colon cancer.


METHODS
The number of buds and other histopathological features were assessed in 477 patients who were operated on between 1971 and 2001, with follow-up to December 2006. Overall survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression.


RESULTS
The number of buds was dichotomized as low (0 to 8) vs high (>or=9). High budding was more common in men, in high-grade tumors, in the presence of venous invasion, and where the tumor had involved a free serosal surface, but budding was not associated with 8 other clinical and pathological features. The 5-year survival rate for patients with 0 to 8 buds was 51.0% (95% confidence interval, 44.9-55.1), whereas that for patients with 9 or more buds was 33.9% (95% confidence interval, 25.2-42.8). This association, however, disappeared after adjustment for other variables independently associated with survival (hazard ratio, 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.94-1.54; P = .139).


CONCLUSIONS
In stage III colon cancer, tumor budding did not provide additional independent prognostic information beyond that given by routine pathology reporting.
Sy
Joanne
J
Department of Anatomical Pathology, Concord Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Fung
Caroline L-S
CL
Dent
Owen F
OF
Chapuis
Pierre H
PH
Bokey
Les
L
Chan
Charles
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate