Prognostic evaluation of regional lymph node morphology colorectal cancer

Histologic sections from 143 patients treated with surgery for infiltrating adenocarcinoma of the distal large bowel were studied with emphasis on the morphologic characteristics of the regional lymph nodes. Lymph nodes were classified into four groups designated lymphocyte predominance, germinal center predominance, lymphocyte depletion, and unstimulated. Results were correlated with the extent of disease and five year survival data. There was no significant association between the histologic pattern of the lymph nodes and the extent of the primary lesion. There was a higher survival rate in patients whose nodes showed germinal center predominance (71 per cent) compared with those whose nodes showed lymphocyte predominance or the unstimulated pattern (both 54 per cent), but these results were not statistically significant.