A COMPARATIVE ULTRASTRUCTURAL STUDY BETWEEN COLORECTAL CANCER AND GASTRIC CANCER

The large intestine is often the site of a tumor development, colorectal cancer being on the 3rd place as frequency, and having also a high mortality rate. Another malignancy with a strong impact over medicine is the gastric cancer; Even if it`s incidence has a descending course, it still remains one of the main neoplasia with a high mortality, occupying the 3rd place worldwide. Considering the fact that in the specialized literature exists insufficient evidence and often contradictions regarding the morphologic and molecular characteristics found in the early stages of malignization and regarding the limits imposed by the usual photonic microscopy techniques, we considered necessary approaching a comparative ultrastructural study between the two types of cancer mentioned above. Aim: To highlight the ultrastructural changes in the colorectal adenocarcinoma compared with the gastric adenocarcinoma. Material and methods: The study included a number of 21 patients diagnosed with colorectal and gastric cancer from which we gathered biopsies that were processed and analyzed using a Transmission Electron Microscope Philips CM100. Results: The ultrastructural study identifies common characteristics of the malign transformation of both colorectal cancer and gastric cancer and also a series of particularities for colorectal cancer inaccessible for common microscopy techniques. Conclusions: New information about the aggressivity and the metastatic potential are accessible through TEM examination, which can improve the therapeutic management of these cases.