A study of tumor budding and the factors, affecting interpretability of peritumoral budding, based on endoscopic colorectal biopsies from the left and right sided colorectal carcinoma

In this paper we summarize the results of a retrospective investigation of tumor budding in endoscopic preoperative biopsies in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma (CRC). The aim of this study was to assess the peritumoral budding evaluation interpretability, based on endoscopic colorectal biopsies in left and right sided colorectal carcinoma and some of the factors that influence it. A group of 100 patients, with preoperative endoscopic biopsies was selected and the tumor buds were counted on H&E stained slides, according to contemporary clinical recommendations. In the studied patient group, budding was identified in a total of 13 patients (13% of the studied cases). The primary localization of the tumor in the left or right colon was not associated with the reporting of budding in endoscopic biopsies of colorectal carcinoma. No budding was observed in highly differentiated tumors, and the presence of budding was reported less frequently in poorly differentiated tumors compared to moderately differentiated ones. Budding was accessible for evaluation in nearly 1/10 of the small biopsies from CRC. Artifacts from the sample management as well as factors related to the tumor characteristics predetermined the possibility for evaluation of tumor budding on small biopsies.