Objective. The presence of high tumor budding in colorectal carcinomas is a significant pathological feature indicative of a high potential for lymph node metastasis. Our aim was to investigate the prognostic impact of tumor budding in ampullary carcinomas. Materials and methods. We conducted a cohort of 101 consecutive ampullary carcinoma resections to evaluate tumor budding, macroscopic and microscopic subtypes, lymphatic/vascular/perineural invasions, and other histopathological parameters. Results. High tumor budding was observed in 49 (49%) of the tumors, and multivariate survival analysis evaluating the overall survival of these patients found tumor budding to be an independent poor prognostic indicator (p = 0.013). Conclusion. Tumor budding should be reported in ampullary carcinomas as it serves as an independent predictor of a poor outcome.
Keywords: adenocarcinoma; ampulla of Vater; carcinoma; pancreas; tumor budding.