Is the non-metastatic, locally advanced colon adenocarinoma a distinct biological tumor variant? A study based on pathological evaluation, immunohistochemical panel and survival.

Objective: to evaluate the clinical and pathological differences between locally advanced colonic adenocarcinomas (LACA) with adhesions between adjacent organs or structures, and colonic adenocarcinomas with other clinical presentations.

Methods: we conducted a retrospective study from a convenience sample of patients with colonic adenocarcinoma, pathological stage pT3, distributed according to clinical and pathological characteristics in three groups: locally advanced tumors (LACA), pT3 tumors without adhesions or distant metastases (SF) and tumors with metastatic disease (M1). We evaluated clinical and pathological characteristics and the expression of seven immunohistochemical markers related to proliferation/apoptosis, cell invasion/migration and metastasis.