Clinicopathological Analysis of Obstructing Colorectal Cancer.

COX‐2+ myofibroblasts may play a key role in marked stromal fibrosis in strictured colorectal carcinomas

“…In this study, the clinicopathological features of 16 cases of SC, which were strictly selected for demonstrating symptoms and signs of ileus on X‐ray examination and needing emergency decompression of the bowel contents, were not, apart from ileus, significantly different from those of NSC. These findings are similar to those of many other clinicopathological reports 3–14 concerning strictured or obstructing carcinomas. However, we quantified the degree of wall stricture as the stricture index (SI), where SI = (1 − the minor axial diameter of the tumour/the distal neighbouring circumference of the normal distal bowel) × 100 (%), and found a high SI in SC.…”

“…Such tumours demonstrating an annular growth pattern have been called strictured colorectal carcinomas (SC), and have the appearance of string tied tightly around the bowel 1,2 . Although many clinicopathological studies of SC have been reported, 3–13 few have provided evidence that the cause of the obstruction results from abundant stromal fibrosis 14,15 …”