1. Spread of rectal cancer within veins. Histologic features and clinical significance.
- Author
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Talbot IC, Ritchie S, Leighton MH, Hughes AO, Bussey HJ, and Morson BC
- Subjects
- Adenocarcinoma blood supply, Humans, Neoplasm Invasiveness, Neoplasm Metastasis, Prognosis, Prospective Studies, Rectal Neoplasms blood supply, Adenocarcinoma pathology, Rectal Neoplasms pathology, Veins pathology
- 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.
- Published
- 1981
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