Dr. Eng on Features of High-Risk CRC

Cathy Eng, MD, FACP, FASCO, David H. Johnson Chair in Surgical and Medical Oncology, co-leader, Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer Research Program, professor of medicine (hematology and oncology), co-director, GI Oncology, vice chair, SWOG GI Committee, and director, VICC Young Adult Cancers Initiative, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses the features of high-risk colorectal cancer (CRC).

Patients with CRC who are at a high risk of disease recurrence may have an obstruction or perforation at presentation, Eng says.

Additionally, patients who derive a suboptimal response to lymph node dissection, have positive margins, or have evidence of lymphovascular or pleural invasive disease are considered to be high-risk patients, explains Eng.

Finally, patients with poorly differentiated or signet ring cell histologies are at an innately higher risk of disease recurrence compared with patients with other histologic CRC subtypes, concludes Eng.