The biological and clinicopathological characteristics of right-sided colon cancer.

The biological characteristics of right-sided colon cancer were examined in 74 colon cancers with regard to clinicopathological parameters, proliferative activity and p53 expression. Significant differences between right-sided and left-sided colon cancer were found in age, tumor size, histological type and lymphatic vessel invasion. The proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index did not significantly differ between the two cancers. The frequency of p53 overexpression was lower in the former than in the latter. The results suggested that right-sided colon cancer did not differ from left-sided colon cancer in proliferative activity except for its tendency to be locally advanced and to differ in carcinogenesis.