A 54-year-old female asked:
what does foci suspicious for lymph vascular involvement mean on a pathologist report?
3 doctor answers

Dr. Joseph Woods answered
28 years experience Pathology
It depends/need info: It depends on what is being looked for, as in what kind of lesion, be it cancer or something else. Whatever it is, the report would likely mean that lymph vessels and/or lymph and vessels may be involved by the lesion in question. This doesn't even make sense by itself as it'd likely say something like "lymph nodes suspicious for foci of involvement" so more info. Is likely needed. Best of luck
Answered on Jun 27, 2014

Dr. David Krulak answered
23 years experience Family Medicine
Path: Assuming that you are receiving this pathology report for a cancerous condition, the statement above means the pathologist saw areas where cancer cells might have been found in the lymph/vascular system. Please see an oncologist for a definitive explanation of your results and a discussion of your treatment options.
Answered on Jun 27, 2014

Dr. Riley Alexander answered
11 years experience Pathology
May be cancer there: Lymph-vascular invasion means that the pathologist sees cancer cells within a lymphatic space or a small vessel (the "highways" cancer cells use to metastasize). They are saying "suspicious for" because they likely see some cells in an isolated vessel(s) or it's too hard to tell if it is artifact (cancer cells can get carried into that space during processing)--not enough to call it outright.
Answered on Jun 27, 2014
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