This study was undertaken to clarify the associations between laminin-5 y2 chain expression, and tumor budding and lymph node metastasis or local recurrence (locoregional failure) of 50 T1 colorectal carcinomas immunohistochemically. Fifteen (30%) of 50 lesions were positive for laminin-5 gamma2 chain expression. By univariate analysis, less histological differentiation (P = 0.02), nonpolypoid growth pattern (P = 0.03) and tumorbudding (P < 0.001) were associated with laminin-5 gamma2 chain positivity. By multivariate analysis, tumor budding alone was significantly associated with laminin-5 gamma2 chain positivity (P = 0.006), and correlation between nonpolypoid growth pattern and laminin-5 gamma2 chain positivity lost its significance (P = 0.09). Tumor budding (P = 0.004) and laminin-5 gamma2 chain expression (P = 0.001) were significantly associated with locoregional failure. Laminin-5 gamma2 chain expression may contribute to the formation of budding tumor cells at the invasive front, and immunostaining of this adhesion molecule may be useful in identifying high-risk patients for locoregional failure in T1 colorectal carcinomas.