Mechanisms of invasion and lymphatic penetration in human colorectal cancer

Abstract
The invasive areas in 24 unselected human colorectal cancers were examined by light and electron microscopy and it was shown that the invasive process involves tubes of cells rather than single cells, that degenerative changes take place in specialized cells ahead of the invasive cancer cells and that the endothelium of the lymphatic vessels disintegrates, leaving gaps in the endothelial lining.