Endoscopic and pathological characteristics of colorectal cancer: Retrospective cohort study.

Background: Endoscopy has rapidly developed in recent years and has enabled further investigation into the origin and features of intestinal tumors. The small size and concealed position of these tumors make it difficult to distinguish them from nonneoplastic polyps and carcinoma in adenoma (CIA). The invasive depth and metastatic potential determine the operation regimen, which in turn affects the overall survival and distant prognosis. The previous studies have confirmed the malignant features and clinicopathological features of colorectal cancer (CRC).

Aim: To provide assistance for diagnosis and treatment, but the lack of a summary of endoscopic features and assessment of risk factors that differ from the CIA prompted us to conduct this retrospective study.

Methods: In total, 167 patients with small-sized CRCs diagnosed by endoscopy were reviewed. The patients diagnosed as advanced CRCs and other malignant cancers or chronic diseases that could affect distant outcomes were excluded. After screening, 63 cases were excluded, including 33 and 30 CIA cases. Patient information, including their follow-up information, was obtained from an electronic His-system. The characteristics between two group and risk factors for invasion depth were analyzed with SPSS 25.0 software.

Results: Nearly half of the CRCs were smaller than 1 cm ( = 16, 48.5%) and the majority were located in the distal colon ( = 26, 78.8%). The IIc type was the most common macroscopic type of CRC. In a Pearson analysis, the differential degree, Sano, JNET, and Kudo types, surrounding mucosa, and chicken skin mucosa (CSM) were correlated with the invasion depth ( < 0.001). CSM was a significant risk factor for deep invasion and disturbed judgment of endoscopic ultrasound. A high degree of tumor budding and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes are accompanied by malignancy. Finally, CRCs have worse outcomes than CIA CRCs.

Conclusion: This is the first comprehensive study to analyze the features of CRCs to distinguish them from nonneoplastic polyps. It is also the first study paying attention to CSM invasive depth measurement. This study emphasizes the high metastatic potential of CRCs and highlights the need for more research on this tumor type.