The interrelationship between tubular and papillary sectors of tubulo-villous colorectal adenomas: comparative morphometric analysis and evaluation of cell proliferation.

In a series of 100 colorectal adenomas, 23 tubulo-villous adenomas were individualized through the identification of papillae as structures persisting for more than 100 microm in serial sections with a connective axis lined with epithelial cells. In these adenomas, the tubular and villous areas with the highest dysplasia were selected, and a morphometric analysis was undertaken to assess the Index of Structural Atypia, the Nucleo-Glandular Index, and the Nuclear Stratification Index. The AgNor count and the proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) Label Index (LI) also were performed.