THE ROLE OF VENOUS AND NEURAL INVASION ON SURVIVAL IN RECTAL ADENOCARCINOMA

A total of 254 rectal adenocarcinomas were examined for the presence of venous and neural invasion. Both the incidence of venous and neural invasion increased with Astler-Coller's stage, except for stage Cl related to neural invasion. Both prognostic factors predicted significantly reduced actuarial survival rates in patients with nodenegative tumors. Thus, examination for the presence of venous and neural invasion can add information to conventional staging in nodenegative tumors for assessing prognosis after radical surgery for rectal adenocarcinoma. © 1990 American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons.