Clinicopathologic impact of colloid in colorectal carcinoma

The overall incidence of colloid (mucinous) carcinoma in patients with colorectal cancer is 17 percent, and its influence on patterns of failure and survival in patients with colorectal cancer varies throughout the literature. The presence of colloid carcinoma may have a real but small impact on the patterns of failure or survival in colorectal cancer. The data are conflicting and, furthermore, by proportional hazards analysis, colloid carcinoma is not an independent prognostic factor for survival. Therefore, despite it being common clinical practice, a change in treatment recommendations based solely on the presence or absence of colloid cancer is not recommended. Treatment recommendations should be based primarily on the tumor stage and site. However, given the trend toward increased failure and decreased survival compared with adenocarcinoma, colloid carcinoma should be reported separate from other histological patterns to better understand its natural history.