TITLE:
Cancer-Associated Lymphatic and Venous Vessels in Colonic Carcinomas
AUTHORS:
Tatsuo Tomita
KEYWORDS:
Colonic Carcinoma, Factor-8, Lymphatic Vessels, LYVE-1, Venous Vessels
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pathology,
Vol.4 No.3,
July
21,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Objective: Colonic carcinomas
spread to regional lymph nodes and liver. There are cancer-associated lymphatic
and venous vessels at the margin of colonic carcinomas, which facilitate spreading
carcinoma through lymphatic and venous vessels. This study aimed to examine
cancer-associated lymphatic and venous vessels in TNM T1 to T3 carcinomas using lymphatic vessel hyaluronan receptor for lymphatic vessels and
von Willebrand factor for venous vessels by immunocytochemical staining.
Materials and Methods: A total of 40 cases of moderately differentiated colonic
carcinoma were studied using routinely formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded
sections. The cases consisted of 10 cases of TNM T1, 15 cases each
of T2 and T3 cases. Immunocytochemical staining was
performed using goat antihuman LYVE-1for lymphatic vessels and rabbit antihuman
von Willebrand factor for venous vessels. Results: In TNM T1 carcinoma, increased, irregular and narrow lymphatic and venous vessels were
present in the adjacent normal mucosa to the carcinoma, some of which
penetrated cancerous lesion. There were no tumor emboli in lymphatic and venous
vessels. In TNM T2 carcinoma, there were few lymphatic and venous
vessels in midst of the carcinoma whereas numerous small lymphatic and venous
vessels were present within muscle layers adjacent to the invading carcinoma.
Extramural tumor embolus was present in submucosa in one case. In TNM T3 carcinoma, cancer has invaded through the muscle layers where dilated lymphatic
and venous vessels were present adjacent to cancerous nests. Tumor emboli were
identified in two cases by immunocytochemical staining. Conclusion: The current
study showed cancer-associated lymphatic and venous vessels at the interface in
TNM T1 carcinoma to dilated intramuscular lymphatic and venous
vessels adjacent to invading cancerous nests in TNM T3 carcinoma,
and supports cancerous cells spread via lymphatic and venous vessels through
muscle layers to subserosa as supported by tumor emboli in the lymphovascular
system.