Association Between Obesity and Histological Tumor Budding in Patients With Nonmetastatic Colon Cancer

Abstract

Key Points Question Is tumor budding associated with obesity and other histological factors associated with aggressive colon cancers? Findings In this cohort study of 200 specimens from patients with colon cancer, high tumor budding (ie, presence of ≥5 bud consisting of 1-4 malignant cells at the invasive edge of the tumor) was significantly associated with clinical factors including obesity, higher disease stage, and cecal location. High tumor budding was also associated with poor prognostic histological features, including poorly differentiated tumor clusters and infiltrative tumor borders. Meaning In this study, tumor budding was associated with multiple prognostic factors for aggressive tumor biology, including obesity and infiltrative tumor border.