The effect of pericolic lymph nodes metastasis beyond 10 cm proximal to the tumor on patients with rectal cancer

• Published in: BMC cancer 2020-06, Vol.20 (1), p.573-573, Article 573
• Main Authors: Yang, Xuyang, Zheng, Erliang, Ye, Lina, Gu, Chaoyang, Hu, Tao, Jiang, Dan, He, Du, Wu, Bing, Wu, Qinbing, Yang, Tinghan, Wei, Mingtian, Meng, Wenjian, Deng, Xiangbing, Wang, Ziqiang, Zhou, Zongguang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cancer; Chemoradiotherapy; Chemotherapy; Colonoscopy; Colorectal cancer; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Incidence; Intestine; Laboratories; Lymph Node Excision - statistics & numerical data; Lymph nodes; Lymph Nodes - diagnostic imaging; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Lymph Nodes - surgery; Lymphatic Metastasis - diagnosis; Lymphatic Metastasis - pathology; Lymphatic Metastasis - therapy; Lymphatic system; Male; Medical prognosis; Mesentery - diagnostic imaging; Mesentery - pathology; Mesentery - surgery; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Paracolic lymph node; Preoperative Period; Proctectomy; Prognosis; Proximal resection margin; Radiation therapy; Rectal cancer; Rectal Neoplasms - mortality; Rectal Neoplasms - pathology; Rectal Neoplasms - surgery; Rectum; Retrospective Studies; Risk factor; Risk Factors; Studies; Surgeons; Surgery; Survival
• ISSN: 1471-2407; 1471-2407
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-020-07037-3

This study aims to determine the real incidence of pericolic lymph nodes metastasis beyond 10 cm proximal to the tumor (pPCN) and its prognostic significance in rectal cancer patients. Consecutive patients with rectal cancer underwent curative resection between 2015 and 2017 were included. Margin distance was marked and measured in vivo and lymph nodes were harvested on fresh specimens. Clinicopathological characteristics and oncological outcomes (3-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS)) were analyzed between patients with pPCN and patients without pPCN (nPCN). There were 298 patients in the nPCN group and 14 patients (4.5%) in pPCN group. Baseline characteristics were balanced except more patients received preoperative or postoperative chemoradiotherapy in pPCN group. Preoperative more advanced cTNM stage (log-rank p = 0.005) and intraoperative more pericolic lymph nodes beyond 10 cm proximal to the tumor (PCNs) (log-rank p = 0.002) were independent risk factors for pPCN. The maximum short-axis diameter of mesenteric lymph nodes ≥8 mm was also contributed to predicting the pPCN. pPCN was an independent prognostic indicator and associated with worse 3-year OS (66% vs 91%, Cox p = 0.033) and DFS (58% vs 92%, Cox p = 0.012). The incidence of pPCN was higher than expected. Patients with high-risk factors (cTNM stage III or more PCNs) might get benefits from an extended proximal bowel resection to avoid residual positive PCNs.