Extracapsular invasion as a risk factor for disease recurrence in colorectal cancer

AIM: To evaluate the presence of extracapsular invasion (ECI) in positive nodes as a predictor of disease recurrence disease in colorectal cancer.METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-eight consecutive patients who underwent colorectal resection were identified for inclusion in this study, of which 46 had positive lymph nodes. Among 46 cases with stage IIIcolorectal cancer, 16 had ECI at positive nodes and 8 had disease recurrence. The clinical and pathological features of these cases were reviewed.RESULTS: In the univariate analysis, the number of positive lymph nodes and depth of tumor invasion were significantly associated with the presence of ECI at positive nodes. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that only ECI was a predictor of recurrence. The recurrence-free interval differed significantly among patients with ECI at positive nodes.CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that ECI at metastatic nodes can identify which cases are at high risk of short-term disease recurrence in colorectal cancer.