HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Review

Lymphovascular invasion: assessment and prognostic impact in melanoma and breast cancer

Nicola Thompson, Sarah Storr, Siwei Zhang and Stewart Martin

University of Nottingham, Department of Clinical Oncology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, City Hospital Campus, Nottingham, UK

Offprint requests to: Dr S. Martin, University of Nottingham, Department of Clinical Oncology, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, City Hospital Campus, Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UK. e-mail: Stewart.martin@nottingham.ac.uk


Summary. The presence of lymphovascular invasion is a recognised poor prognostic factor in a wide range of tumour types. Vascular invasion was historically identified through haematoxylin and eosin staining, however this technique is non-specific and differentiates poorly between blood and lymphatic vessels. Newer techniques using immunohistochemistry allow more sensitive and specific identification of lymphovascular invasion and are able to accurately differentiate between lymphatic and blood vessels. This review will discuss the current methods available for the assessment of lymphovascular invasion. Additionally, it will focus on the role of lymphovascular invasion in breast cancer and melanoma, discussing the relative importance of lymphatic and blood vessel invasion in each tumour type. Histol Histopathol 30, 1001-1009 (2015)

Key words: Breast cancer, Melanoma, Lymphovascular invasion

DOI: 10.14670/HH-11-615