Optimal number of lymph nodes to be examined in stage II colon cancer

Purpose Adequate lymph node evaluation is required for the proper staging of colon cancer. The current recommended number of lymph nodes that should be retrieved and assessed is 12. Methods The multidisciplinary Gastrointestinal Tumor Board at the Derrick L. Davis Forsyth Regional Cancer Center reviewed and recommended that a minimum of 12 lymph nodes be examined in all cases of colon cancer to ensure proper staging. This recommendation occurred at the end of the first quarter of 2005. To ensure this new standard was being followed, an outcomes study looking at the number of lymph nodes evaluated in stage II colon cancer was initiated. All patients with stage II colon cancer diagnosed between 2004 and 2006 were reviewed. Results There was a statistically significant improvement in the number of stage II colon cancer patients with 12 or more lymph nodes evaluated. Before the Gastrointestinal Tumor Board's recommendation, 49% (40 out of 82 patients) had 12 or more lymph nodes sampled. The median number of lymph nodes evaluated was 11. After the Gastrointestinal Tumor Board's recommendation, 79% (70 out of 88 patients) had 12 or more lymph nodes sampled. The median number of lymph nodes was 16. Conclusion Multidisciplinary tumor boards can impact the quality of care of patients as demonstrated in this study. Although we do not yet have survival data on these patients, based on the previous literature referenced in this article, we would expect to see an improvement in survival rates in patients with 12 or more nodes retrieved and assessed.

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Impact of Inadequate Number of Lymph Nodes Examined on Survival in Stage II Colon Cancer

Frontiers in Oncology ◽

10.3389/fonc.2021.736678 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Qi Wu ◽

Zhiyuan Zhang ◽

Yijiao Chen ◽

Jiang Chang ◽

Yudong Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colon Cancer ◽

Lymph Nodes ◽

Stage Ii ◽

Rank Test ◽

Chi Square ◽

Clinical Role ◽

Cancer Data ◽

Kaplan Meier ◽

Chi Square Test ◽

Stage Ii Colon Cancer

BackgroundInadequate number of lymph nodes examined was not uncommon. We aimed to assess the clinical role of inadequate number of lymph nodes examined in stage II colon cancer.MethodsThe cancer data used in our study were obtained from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results) program. Using the chi-square test, all the variables obtained in our study were compared based on whether patients had enough (≥12) lymph nodes examined. Kaplan–Meier analysis was used for overall survival (OS) analysis, and log-rank test was applied to compare different N stages with the total number of lymph nodes examined. Multivariate analysis was carried out by creating a Cox proportional hazard model to assess the prognostic roles of different variables.ResultsIn total, 80,296 stage II/III colon cancer patients were recruited for our study. N0 stage with <8 lymph nodes examined would present with a worse prognosis compared to N1 stage (5-year OS rates, 51.6% vs. 57.1%, p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses indicated that OS of N0 stage with <8 lymph nodes examined was similar to that of N1 stage after adjusting for other recognized prognostic factors [hazard ratios (HRs) = 1.051, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.014–1.090, p = 0.018].ConclusionsN0 stage with less than eight lymph nodes examined in stage II colon cancer presented with no better OS compared to that of N1 stage. Stage II colon cancer with less than eight lymph nodes examined needed to be given greater emphasis in clinical practice.

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