Uniform Noting for International application of the Tumor-stroma ratio as Easy Diagnostic tool: The UNITED study - An update

Background: The UNITED study researches the tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) as prognostic parameter in colon cancer. A high amount of stroma has retrospectively been proven to lead to a worse overall and disease-free survival (OS and DFS, respectively), potentially influencing the choice for adjuvant therapy. The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and College of American Pathologists (CAP) supported the importance of this parameter, but indicated the necessity of a prospective international multicenter trial using a quality program for scoring. Hence, this study prepares the TSR for implementation in current routine pathology diagnostics in addition to the TNM classification.