MyPathologyReport
October 17, 2023
Vascular invasion (also known as angioinvasion) is the movement of tumour cells into a blood vessel such as a capillary, artery, or vein. Once tumour cells enter a blood vessel, they can metastasize (spread) to other body parts such as the lungs or bones. Vascular invasion is almost always associated with malignant (cancerous) tumours. It is very rarely seen in a benign (noncancerous) tumour.
Vascular invasion can only be seen when tissue is examined under a microscope. Negative means that tumour cells were not seen in any of the blood vessels examined under the microscope. Positive is the opposite. It means that tumour cells were seen inside at least one blood vessel examined.
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