| Theme | Pathological evalution of submucosal invasive colorectal cancer | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Pathological diagnostic issues concerning the depth of submucosal invasive cancer in the colon and rectum | |
| Publish Date | 2000/03 | |
| Author | Yoichi Ajioka | Department of Pathology, Jikei University School of Medicine |
| [ Summary ] | In recent years, endoscopic resection has become the preferred technique for removing many early colorectal cancers. Endoscopic resection is indicated for intramucosal cancer without risk of metastasis to the lymphnodes or other organs. However, it is necessary to clarify accurate pathological diagnoses in order to determine the depth of submucosal invasive cancers for treatment. In this study, we tried to diagnose the depth of submucosal invasive cancer by the examination of the morphology of the muscularis mucosae. As a result, submucosal invasive cancer was classified into two types, according to the morphological types of muscularis mucosae. 1) Type A : It can be diagnosed for the depth of submucosal in vasive cancer because of the preservation of muscularis mucosae. 2) Type B : It is impossible to diagnose these because they break through the muscularis mucosae by the infiltration of cancer cells. Most of the cases, showed focal invasion of the submucosal layer in type A with a few exceptions. By contrast, a great deal of cancer cells invaded the submucosal layer type B cases. Consequently, it is difficult to diagnose the depth of submucosal invasive cancers in type B cases. This leads us to believe that all colorectal cancers with submucosal invasion of the B type may be safely treated by using surgical resection. |
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