Immunohistochemical evaluation of tumor budding in colorectal cancer: an important parameter with prognostic value

Vol. 60 No. 3, 2019

ROMANIAN JOURNAL of MORPHOLOGY and EMBRYOLOGY

Cristian Mesina, Catalin Liviu Stoean, Ruxandra Stoean, Adrian Victor Sandita, Theodor Viorel Dumitrescu, Stelian Stefanita Mogoanta, Daniel Alin Cristian, Mihaela-Iustina Mesina-Botoran, George Mitroi, Corina-Lavinia Gruia, Maria Camelia Foarfa, Mihai Mesina, Daniela Ciobanu

We analyzed 82 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) [75 patients with mucinous adenocarcinoma (ADK) and seven patients with signet ring cell ADK] using multi-cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3 immunohistochemical assay. In order to determine the mucinous nature of some of the lymph node metastases of the mucinous colorectal ADKs studied, Periodic Acid Schiff-Alcian Blue (PAS-AB) histochemical staining was used. The counting results were systematized in the following ranges: 0 budding areas; between 1-4 budding areas; between 5-9 budding areas; and >=10 tumor budding (TB) areas. The statistical analysis was performed using the Student s t-test. More than half of the cases of mucinous ADK revealed an increased intensity of TB, whereas in the case of signet ring cell ADK, an average intensity of this phenomenon. Mucinous ADKs, which were pT3 staged, showed an increased intensity of TB, and those in pT2 stage demonstrated, in the vast majority of cases, the absence of TB. There was a predominance of TB intensity in the absence of vascular-lymphatic invasion. Our study shows the existence of a concordance between tumor progression, the histological type of CRC, vascular-lymphatic invasion and the phenomenon of TB.

Corresponding author: Mihaela-Iustina Mesina-Botoran, Lecturer, MD, PhD; e-mail: mesina.cristian@doctor.com

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