CIRCULATING TUMOR CELLS AND SOME MORPHOLOGICAL AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL INDICATORS IN COLORECTAL CANCER
The content of сirculating tumor cells in the peripheral blood of 40 patients with colorectal cancer was studied. In the studied patients was discovered elevated levels сirculating tumor cells (CТC) >3 cells (3 to 400 cells in the sample) in 75% of cases. All the tumors according to their histologic structure were adenocarcinomas,varying degrees of differentiation (high, moderate, low). Correlation between CTC content and some morphological and immunohistochemical indices (proliferative activity using ki-67, apoptosis factor р53, angiogenesis using CD31, and adhesion using MMP-2) was determined. Morphological changes in the tumor were comparable with clinical manifestations such as early relapses and metastasesin terms of up to 24 months. The results research important for understanding the mechanisms progression of colon cancer and are prognostic.