title: Optimizing the detection of venous invasion in colorectal cancer: the ontario, Canada, experience and beyond.
abstract: Venous invasion (VI) is a well-established independent prognostic indicator in colorectal cancer (CRC). Its accurate detection is particularly important in stage II CRC as it may influence the decision to administer adjuvant therapy. The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) of the United Kingdom state that VI should be detected in at least 30% of CRC resection specimens. However, our experience in Ontario, Canada suggests that this (conservative) benchmark is rarely met. This article highlights the "Ontario experience" with respect to VI reporting and the key role that careful morphologic assessment, elastin staining and knowledge transfer has played in improving VI detection provincially and beyond.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto , Toronto, ON , Canada ; Clinical Pathology Division, Institute of Pathology, University of Bern , Bern , Switzerland.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto , Toronto, ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kirsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University , London, ON , Canada.
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Driman
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust , Taunton , UK.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Messenger
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto , Toronto, ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Naziheh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Assarzadegan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto , Toronto, ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Riddell
keywords: colorectal cancer; elastin stain; prognostic marker; stage II colorectal cancer; venous invasion