What does moderately diffentiated mean?

CessnaFlyer
CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I was reviewing my surgical pathology report and for the first time I noted that it says "Adenocarcinoma of the colon, moderately diffentiated. What does moderately diffentiated mean? I wish they explained some of these medical terms on the reports.

Comments

  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Moderately differentiated colorectal adenocarcinoma
    Abstract:
    Background:
    The differences between the metastatic property of moderately (Mod) and well (Wel) differentiated colorectal adenocarcinoma remain unclear. Since Mod is unable to form complete acini, therefore an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) can occur in that structure. Herein, we hypothesized that Mod metastasizes more easily than the Wel counterparts.
    The entire web page

    NOTE: I don't know if this is helpful info or not but it does show that they may have used the correct terminology in your report.
    -p
  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    PhillieG said:

    Moderately differentiated colorectal adenocarcinoma
    Abstract:
    Background:
    The differences between the metastatic property of moderately (Mod) and well (Wel) differentiated colorectal adenocarcinoma remain unclear. Since Mod is unable to form complete acini, therefore an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) can occur in that structure. Herein, we hypothesized that Mod metastasizes more easily than the Wel counterparts.
    The entire web page

    NOTE: I don't know if this is helpful info or not but it does show that they may have used the correct terminology in your report.
    -p

    Yes, they used the right terminology.
    Phillieg, thanks for the information. I double checked the Pathology Report and "moderately diffentiated" is the correct terminology. Not sure where John23 was coming from with his "Typo or a Dumbo" comment. If he was trying to be funny or just rude.

    Best,
    CessnaFlyer
  • Betsydoglover
    Betsydoglover Member Posts: 1,248 Member
    Moderately Differentiated
    Hi Cesna - from the NCI site is the following def of differentiation:

    differentiation (DIH-fur-EN-shee-AY-shun)

    In cancer, refers to how mature (developed) the cancer cells are in a tumor. Differentiated tumor cells resemble normal cells and tend to grow and spread at a slower rate than undifferentiated or poorly differentiated tumor cells, which lack the structure and function of normal cells and grow uncontrollably.

    So "moderately differentiated" sounds like they are closer to "differentiated" than to undiff and thus would have possibly a better prognosis.

    I actually don't have this info about my case -- have the path report from my liver biopsy done during my colon resection back in 2005, but it says nothing about this - in fact says almost nothing!

    Take care,
  • HollyID
    HollyID Member Posts: 946 Member

    Moderately Differentiated
    Hi Cesna - from the NCI site is the following def of differentiation:

    differentiation (DIH-fur-EN-shee-AY-shun)

    In cancer, refers to how mature (developed) the cancer cells are in a tumor. Differentiated tumor cells resemble normal cells and tend to grow and spread at a slower rate than undifferentiated or poorly differentiated tumor cells, which lack the structure and function of normal cells and grow uncontrollably.

    So "moderately differentiated" sounds like they are closer to "differentiated" than to undiff and thus would have possibly a better prognosis.

    I actually don't have this info about my case -- have the path report from my liver biopsy done during my colon resection back in 2005, but it says nothing about this - in fact says almost nothing!

    Take care,

    Betsy's right....
    Undifferentiated cells grow at a faster rate that moderately and they are definitely not mature cells. They are "mutants" if you will.

    They use this type of differentiation to determine prognosis. Mine also says moderately. I have a better chance of survival than those with poorly diff or unclear diff. Well differentiated tumors have the best chance of survival. :)

    http://onctalk.com/2007/03/20/tumor-grade-and-prognosis-in-nsclc/
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    Rude ???


    Ok, let's do this again.....

    Re:
    "I was reviewing my surgical pathology report and for the first
    time I noted that it says "Adenocarcinoma of the colon,
    moderately diffentiated. What does moderately diffentiated mean?"


    And the word (assuming it was spelled as you spelled it), is not correct.

    The word shouldn't be diffentiated, it should be differentiated ,
    and if you tried to look the misspelled word up, you won't find reference to it.

    Now..... since we all have a computer and the WWW at hand, if you
    were having trouble finding the explanation for that, the misspelling
    would be the reason why.

    Mistakes are made on reports, and either they're Typos, or what we
    called "dumbos", since they're done by those that "never make mistakes".

    My radiologist said in her report, that I had a colostomy. I have
    an ileostomy, and for medical practices, there's a major, big difference.

    Mistakes happen.

    Just wondering now..... exactly how was that report spelled?
    Did your physician make the mistake, or was it a typo in -your- post?

    Sorry if you assumed that I was trying to be rude, it wasn't the case.

    Best of health,


    John
  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    John23 said:

    Rude ???


    Ok, let's do this again.....

    Re:
    "I was reviewing my surgical pathology report and for the first
    time I noted that it says "Adenocarcinoma of the colon,
    moderately diffentiated. What does moderately diffentiated mean?"


    And the word (assuming it was spelled as you spelled it), is not correct.

    The word shouldn't be diffentiated, it should be differentiated ,
    and if you tried to look the misspelled word up, you won't find reference to it.

    Now..... since we all have a computer and the WWW at hand, if you
    were having trouble finding the explanation for that, the misspelling
    would be the reason why.

    Mistakes are made on reports, and either they're Typos, or what we
    called "dumbos", since they're done by those that "never make mistakes".

    My radiologist said in her report, that I had a colostomy. I have
    an ileostomy, and for medical practices, there's a major, big difference.

    Mistakes happen.

    Just wondering now..... exactly how was that report spelled?
    Did your physician make the mistake, or was it a typo in -your- post?

    Sorry if you assumed that I was trying to be rude, it wasn't the case.

    Best of health,


    John

    John, life is short and typos happen.
    I've earned my living as a professional writer for 40-plus years and I can tell you that I have made more than my share of typos. The more you wight the more typos you make. I could stop writing and never make another type again, or I can accept that I will make typos in the future. I've also come to accept that I will also make mistakes. I guess I could do nothing for the rest of my life and never make a mistake, but then that would be the biggest mistake of all. I haven't proofed this post to see if I make any typos, but the truth is I really don't care.
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member

    John, life is short and typos happen.
    I've earned my living as a professional writer for 40-plus years and I can tell you that I have made more than my share of typos. The more you wight the more typos you make. I could stop writing and never make another type again, or I can accept that I will make typos in the future. I've also come to accept that I will also make mistakes. I guess I could do nothing for the rest of my life and never make a mistake, but then that would be the biggest mistake of all. I haven't proofed this post to see if I make any typos, but the truth is I really don't care.

    Uhhh oops?


    No, I didn't mean -you-, I meant the physician shouldn't allow
    a typo to be published on a report to be filed.

    I write, and I make mistrakes too, but that's not the point or
    apparently the "issue", either.

    You asked a simple question with your first post, and I noticed
    that you repeated what you said the report said, twice, and both
    times the term was spelled incorrectly.

    If you were having trouble looking up a medical term your doctor
    wrote, and the doc spelled it wrong, it'd be no wonder you couldn't
    locate the info.

    I was merely pointing that out.

    Phil said that the report's terminology was correct, but he was
    apparently assuming that you were making a typo, and he simply
    ignored that. Unfortunately, that made my remark appear out
    of context.

    I tried to explain that my radiologist made a major mistake, and
    she attempted to write it off as a typo. The fact was, she made
    numerous mistakes on the reporting of my CT scan. She corrected
    the mistakes that were evident, but can any of the report be trusted?

    Had I been rushed to a hospital on a gurney, they'd pull reports,
    and if they assumed the report was correct, they would treat me
    in a manner to accommodate something I don't have, and ignore
    the fact that a patient with an ileostomy has other issues to be
    concerned with.

    After waiting a year to see what my scans will tell me, I now
    might have to have them taken again, or re-read by another
    specialist. With all the lil' aches and pains, it worries me that
    a "clean report" might be in error.

    Soooo.... the bottom line?

    We can make "typos", but a professional that is responsible
    for your health and well-being? They might make one typo....
    after that, it's a "dumbo".


    Best wishes,

    John
  • Erinb
    Erinb Member Posts: 293

    John, life is short and typos happen.
    I've earned my living as a professional writer for 40-plus years and I can tell you that I have made more than my share of typos. The more you wight the more typos you make. I could stop writing and never make another type again, or I can accept that I will make typos in the future. I've also come to accept that I will also make mistakes. I guess I could do nothing for the rest of my life and never make a mistake, but then that would be the biggest mistake of all. I haven't proofed this post to see if I make any typos, but the truth is I really don't care.

    Hello
    John is trying to help you. Everyone here cares about other people. If John wasn't trying to help, he wouldn't have responded to your post or looked up his old report to find out the word.
    Most of us are here to learn or share experiences.
    Erin
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    It's either a Typo or a Dumbo by the physician.
    The word should have been: differentiation

    Excerpt:
    "In developmental biology, cellular differentiation is the process by
    which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. "
  • CessnaFlyer
    CessnaFlyer Member Posts: 110
    John23 said:

    Uhhh oops?


    No, I didn't mean -you-, I meant the physician shouldn't allow
    a typo to be published on a report to be filed.

    I write, and I make mistrakes too, but that's not the point or
    apparently the "issue", either.

    You asked a simple question with your first post, and I noticed
    that you repeated what you said the report said, twice, and both
    times the term was spelled incorrectly.

    If you were having trouble looking up a medical term your doctor
    wrote, and the doc spelled it wrong, it'd be no wonder you couldn't
    locate the info.

    I was merely pointing that out.

    Phil said that the report's terminology was correct, but he was
    apparently assuming that you were making a typo, and he simply
    ignored that. Unfortunately, that made my remark appear out
    of context.

    I tried to explain that my radiologist made a major mistake, and
    she attempted to write it off as a typo. The fact was, she made
    numerous mistakes on the reporting of my CT scan. She corrected
    the mistakes that were evident, but can any of the report be trusted?

    Had I been rushed to a hospital on a gurney, they'd pull reports,
    and if they assumed the report was correct, they would treat me
    in a manner to accommodate something I don't have, and ignore
    the fact that a patient with an ileostomy has other issues to be
    concerned with.

    After waiting a year to see what my scans will tell me, I now
    might have to have them taken again, or re-read by another
    specialist. With all the lil' aches and pains, it worries me that
    a "clean report" might be in error.

    Soooo.... the bottom line?

    We can make "typos", but a professional that is responsible
    for your health and well-being? They might make one typo....
    after that, it's a "dumbo".


    Best wishes,

    John

    John, no problem.
    I know you were trying to help and it's appriciated and I see your point about the need for medical reports to be correct. I agree. Thanks. :)
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    Erinb said:

    Hello
    John is trying to help you. Everyone here cares about other people. If John wasn't trying to help, he wouldn't have responded to your post or looked up his old report to find out the word.
    Most of us are here to learn or share experiences.
    Erin

    Erin -


    Thanks! As you can see, we're all friends here.

    Sometimes what we type doesn't seem to make it they way we intend,
    and that's a problem of this medium that we can all fall prey to.

    All's well that end's well.....

    Thanks again, and best wishes!

    John
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member

    Yes, they used the right terminology.
    Phillieg, thanks for the information. I double checked the Pathology Report and "moderately diffentiated" is the correct terminology. Not sure where John23 was coming from with his "Typo or a Dumbo" comment. If he was trying to be funny or just rude.

    Best,
    CessnaFlyer

    I'm sure he was going for funny
    The terminology is confusing at best. I really never look at the pathology reports. It's like trying to read the fine print on a credit card application. I'm sure it's important but I'll be damned if I can REALLY understand it. That's what I pay my oncologist for. I've found John likes to play with words, he's not a rude dude with an attitude
    ;-)
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    John23 said:

    Erin -


    Thanks! As you can see, we're all friends here.

    Sometimes what we type doesn't seem to make it they way we intend,
    and that's a problem of this medium that we can all fall prey to.

    All's well that end's well.....

    Thanks again, and best wishes!

    John

    You say
    to-mah-to, and I say to-may-to. You say po-tah-to and I say po-tay-to...
    Let's call the whole thing off...

    Wait! John, did you mean "prey" or "pray"?
  • John23
    John23 Member Posts: 2,122 Member
    PhillieG said:

    You say
    to-mah-to, and I say to-may-to. You say po-tah-to and I say po-tay-to...
    Let's call the whole thing off...

    Wait! John, did you mean "prey" or "pray"?

    Phil -


    Just a bout of herbal-brain, I guess...

    And by the way, it's pronounced: Pa-too-tee


    (I -will- be preying for you, check your guitar cases)
  • coloCan
    coloCan Member Posts: 1,944 Member
    John23 said:

    Phil -


    Just a bout of herbal-brain, I guess...

    And by the way, it's pronounced: Pa-too-tee


    (I -will- be preying for you, check your guitar cases)

    Hey Phil, blow 'em away with a blast of
    "Purple Haze"......good for what ails ya, even if not FDA approved.....
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    coloCan said:

    Hey Phil, blow 'em away with a blast of
    "Purple Haze"......good for what ails ya, even if not FDA approved.....

    Don't eat the brown acid...
    This photo I'm using is from the Jeff Beck show I saw the other night...