Adenocarcinomas of caecum have distinctive cinicopathological features

Abstract

Aims Recent molecular data has identified that caecal adenocarcinoma differs significantly from adenocarcinoma of the contiguous right colon by exhibiting frequent KRAS mutation but less common BRAF mutation. We sought to examine whether this molecular finding translates to clinicopathological differences in an unselected series of colorectal carcinoma. Methods Colorectal carcinoma resections reported at Envoi Pathology in 2011 were reviewed for the following features: age, sex, site, tumour size, stage, morphology, venous invasion, tumour budding and mismatch repair status. Carcinoma of caecum was compared to carcinoma at other sites. Results 354 carcinomas from 335 patients were reviewed. Caecal adenocarcinoma occurred at an older age (mean 72.4 years vs 66.9 years; p p p =0.05) than carcinoma from other sites. Compared to other carcinoma of right colon, caecal adenocarcinoma was more frequent in males ( p p Discussion Our data support the concept that the caecal adeno-carcinoma is different from other sites. Understanding of the reason for this may provide useful insights into the pathogenesis of colorectal carcinoma.