Histopathological evaluation of oesophageal carcinoma: the significance of venous invasion.

Follow-up data on 115 patients who had undergone surgical resection for oesophageal carcinoma were analysed. Histological sections were reviewed for tumour classification, grading and staging, and special stains were used to detect venous invasion. The effect of various factors on survival was statistically analysed using Cox's proportional hazards regression model. In this multivariate analysis lymph node metastasis was the most important variable in the assessment of survival (improvement chi 2 = 7.43, P = 0.006). Venous invasion, which was demonstrated with a frequency of 76.5 per cent (mostly intramural) was the second most important prognostic factor (improvement chi 2 = 2.86, P = 0.09). The relative risk for the presence of both variables was rather modest (3.09).