The Clinical Implication of Cancer-Associated Microvasculature and Fibroblast in Advanced Colorectal Cancer Patients with Synchronous or Metachronous Metastases

Background We aimed to evaluate the clinical significance of microvessel density (MVD), lymphatic vessel density (LVD), and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in relation to tumor location in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods Using immunohistochemistry, we examined 181 advanced CRC patients for CD31 and D2-40 to measure MVD and LVD, respectively, α-smooth muscle actin (SMA) and desmin to identify CAFs, and PTEN to examine genetic...