Micropapillary Pattern and Poorly Differentiated Clusters Represent the Same Biological Phenomenon in Colorectal Cancer

Abstract

The altered expression of MUC1 and E-cadherin may account for the aggressive behavior and higher metastatic potential of CRCs with high PDC counts and indicate an epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Our findings suggest that regardless of the morphologic aspect, PDCs and the micropapillary component may reflect the same biological phenomenon in CRCs. Thus, we wonder whether the micropapillary areas should be considered a variant of CRCs or more objectively counted as PDCs to predict prognosis. We also believe that the term PDC better describes the biological phenomena underlying this peculiar morphologic aspect in comparison with the misnomer micropapillary.