Histopathological growth patterns of liver metastasis: updated consensus guidelines for pattern scoring, perspectives and recent mechanistic insights

Emily Latacz, Translational Cancer Research Unit, GZA Hospitals, Iridium Netwerk and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Diederik Höppener, Department of Surgery, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Ali Bohlok, Department of Surgical Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium.
Sophia Leduc, Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Sébastien Tabariès, Department of Medicine, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Carlos Fernández Moro, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
Claire Lugassy, Department of Translational Research, Institut Curie, Paris, France.
Hanna Nyström, Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Surgery, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Béla Bozóky, Department of Clinical Pathology and Cancer Diagnostics, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden.
Giuseppe Floris, Department of Imaging and Pathology, Laboratory of Translational Cell & Tissue Research and University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Natalie Geyer, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
Pnina Brodt, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Medicine, McGill University and the Research Institute, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Laura Llado, HBP and Liver Transplantation Unit, Department of Surgery, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Laura Van Mileghem, Translational Cancer Research Unit, GZA Hospitals, Iridium Netwerk and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Maxim De Schepper, Laboratory for Translational Breast Cancer Research, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Ali W. Majeed, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Sheffield, UK.
Anthoula Lazaris, Cancer Research Program, McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Piet Dirix, Translational Cancer Research Unit, GZA Hospitals, Iridium Netwerk and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Qianni Zhang, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Stéphanie K. Petrillo, Cancer Research Program, McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Sophie Vankerckhove, Department of Surgical Oncology, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium.
Ines Joye, Translational Cancer Research Unit, GZA Hospitals, Iridium Netwerk and University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Yannick Meyer, Department of Surgery, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Alexander Gregorieff, Cancer Research Program, McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Nuria Ruiz Roig, Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Fernando Vidal-Vanaclocha, GWU-Cancer Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Larsimont Denis, Department of Pathology, Institut Jules Bordet, Brussels, Belgium.
Rui Caetano Oliveira, Pathology Department, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Peter Metrakos, Cancer Research Program, McGill University Health Centre Research Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Dirk J. Grünhagen, Department of Surgery, Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Iris D. Nagtegaal, Department of Pathology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
David G. Mollevi, Tumoral and Stromal Chemoresistance Group, Oncobell Program, IDIBELL, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

6-1-2022

Journal

British journal of cancer

DOI

10.1038/s41416-022-01859-7

Abstract

The first consensus guidelines for scoring the histopathological growth patterns (HGPs) of liver metastases were established in 2017. Since then, numerous studies have applied these guidelines, have further substantiated the potential clinical value of the HGPs in patients with liver metastases from various tumour types and are starting to shed light on the biology of the distinct HGPs. In the present guidelines, we give an overview of these studies, discuss novel strategies for predicting the HGPs of liver metastases, such as deep-learning algorithms for whole-slide histopathology images and medical imaging, and highlight liver metastasis animal models that exhibit features of the different HGPs. Based on a pooled analysis of large cohorts of patients with liver-metastatic colorectal cancer, we propose a new cut-off to categorise patients according to the HGPs. An up-to-date standard method for HGP assessment within liver metastases is also presented with the aim of incorporating HGPs into the decision-making processes surrounding the treatment of patients with liver-metastatic cancer. Finally, we propose hypotheses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive the biology of the different HGPs, opening some exciting preclinical and clinical research perspectives.

Department

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine

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