The relationship of histology to the spread of cancer

This paper investigates the question of whether different types of histology at the same site can affect the spread of metastases—that is, producing a greater or fewer number of metastases depending on the histological diagnosis. Autopsy records were the source of the data analyzed in this paper. The metastases were subdivided into four categories—central nervous metastases, endocrine metastases, metastases at various lymphatic areas, and a miscellaneous group of metastases called the “remainder” group. It was found that adenocarcinoma and oat-cell carcinoma of the lungs are more aggressive in their metastatic spread than squamous cell carcinoma at the same site. Adenocarcinoma of the cervix uteri had more widespread metastases than squamous cell carcinoma at the same site. No difference at all was detectable in the number of metastases, in men or in women, between transitional cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the bladder and kidney. Cystadenocarcinoma of the ovaries appeared to be less widespread than adenocarcinoma (not otherwise specified) of the same site.