Lymph node dissection in colon cancer is without a doubt necessary, it is just the extent of that dissection that is still under debate. As the individual steps of an oncologic operation cannot be separated from each other, analysis of the significance of lymph node dissection alone is difficult. It has been proven that the T category is directly related to the number and central spread of lymph node metastases. Micrometastases and isolated tumor cells may be detected in lymph nodes by using special staining techniques; their presence may worsen prognosis significantly and approximate it to UICC stage III. The numbers of dissected lymph nodes and the ratio of involved versus dissected lymph nodes have been used as markers for quality of surgery and histopathological evaluation. JMS 2018: 21 (2):109-113
PD16-08 INTERNATIONAL AND MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PERFORMANCE AND QUALITY OF LYMPH NODE DISSECTION DURING RADICAL NEPHRECTOMY