Histopathological Prognostic Factors in Colo- Rectal Cancer

Abstract

Although considerable progress has been made in the early diagnosis of cancer, there has not been a comparable advance in the accuracy of predicting the patient’s prognosis. Prediction of prognosis in colorectal cancer is vital for the choice of an optimal therapeutic plan and, in particular, for identifying patients at high risk who have indication of adjuvant therapy. The prognostic factors with most influence on colorectal cancer are the histopathological ones. First among them is the tumoral stage, but also the degree of differentiation and histological type and subtype, all well known factors. Recent research in this area has led to the definition and understanding of additional factors considered to have stage-independent prognostic value, such as perineural invasion, tumor budding, extramural cancer deposits or intratumoral lymphocytic infiltration. In this article, the predictive value of these elements, as well as guidelines for their interpretation, are reviewed in detail.