Microscopic growth pattern of metastatic colorectal carcinomas, morphological findings of the non-neoplastic liver, and their relationship with prognosis and survival

Abstract

Introduction. Various clinicopathological, radiological, and molecular parameters are predictive of prognosis in patients with colorectal carcinoma and distant organ metastases continue to have a significant place among them. Recent studies reveal that not only the presence of metastases but also the histopathological growth pattern of the metastatic tumor significantly affects prognosis. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of the histopathological growth patterns of metastatic tumors, the morphological findings in the peritumoral non-neoplastic liver, and its relationship with survival in patients who have metastatic colorectal carcinoma. Materials and Method. Hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides of the tumors were re-examined in terms of histopathological diagnosis, growth pattern, presence and degree of peritumoral lymphocytic infiltration, steatosis, cholestasis, and peritumoral ductular reaction in the non-neoplastic liver. Results. In terms of histopathological growth patterns, 24 (47%) tumors showed replacement, 19 (37%) showed desmoplastic and 8 (16%) showed pushing growth pattern. In terms of total survival, there was a significant difference (P = .011) between desmoplastic and replacement growth patterns, and the survival period was shorter in patients with replacement growth patterns. Conclusion. Recent studies show that histopathological growth patterns in metastatic liver tumors may be a promising prognostic and predictive parameter. It is important to include this parameter in the pathology reports as it does not require additional equipment for evaluation in routine pathology practice, does not bring additional costs, or takes a long time to evaluate. This feature can be evaluated standardly by every pathologist.