Can immunohistology improve detection of lymph-node metastases in large-bowel cancer?

Employing the monoclonal antibody CAM5.2, the sensitivity of immunohistologic staining was compared with conventional hematoxylin and eosin staining for detection of lymph-node metastases from large-bowel cancer. Ten patients who died unexpectedly early from recurrent disease were selected; 86 lymph nodes were examined. Where metastases were located they were readily identified by both methods but when the original lymph-node sections were reviewed, attention was drawn to two metastatic deposits that had been overlooked previously. These results suggest that immunohistologic techniques offer no advantage in the identification of lymph-node metastases in large-bowel cancer.