What is Lymphovascular involvement?

What is Lymphovascular involvement?

Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is defined as the presence of tumor cells within a definite endothelial-lined space (lymphatics or blood vessels) in the breast surrounding invasive carcinoma. The presence of LVI is associated with an increased risk of axillary lymph node and distant metastases.

What does Angiolymphatic invasion mean?

Angiolymphatic invasion (ALI) is usually defined as the presence of tumour cells within lymph-vessels and/or blood-vessels. ALI plays a key role in lymph node metastasis and cancer cell spread and it is thought to increase the possibility of micro-metastatic risks in local-regional cancer (5).

What does LVSI mean?

Lymph-vascular space invasion (LVSI) is an important adverse prognostic factor in endometrial cancer (EC). However, its role in relation to type of recurrence and adjuvant treatment is not well defined, and there is significant interobserver variation.

What LVI means?

Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is the movement of cancer cells into either a blood or lymphatic vessel. Blood vessels carry blood to and from organs. Lymphatic vessels bring excess fluid, waste, and other substances away from organs so they can be examined by the immune system before being removed from the body.

What is Angiolymphatic?

If cancer cells are seen in small blood vessels or lymph vessels (lymphatics) under the microscope, it is called vascular, angiolymphatic, or lymphovascular invasion. When cancer is growing in these vessels, there is an increased risk that it has spread outside the breast.

How is LVSI detected?

Currently, the standard method for assessing LVSI is light microscopic examination of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections. Microscopic detection of LVSI depends on identifying tumour cells within a confined space lined by endothelial cells and has three important limitations.

What is focal LVSI?

Focal LVSI was defined as ‘a single focus of LVSI around a tumour’ and substantial LVSI was defined as ‘diffuse or multifocal LVSI around a tumour’.

Does lymphovascular invasion mean metastasis?

Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) allows cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymphatic system. The movement of cancer cells to another part of the body is called metastasis.