Convenient method to improve efficiency of lymph node examination after gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer

• Published in: BMC gastroenterology 2023-12, Vol.23 (1), p.428-428, Article 428
• Main Authors: Xiang, Hanting, Dong, Zhebin, Wu, Hengmiao, He, Yicheng, Chen, Zhengwei, Chen, Sangsang, Yu, Weiming, Liang, Chao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Body mass index; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Chemotherapy; Development and progression; Diagnosis; Female; Gastrectomy; Gastrectomy - methods; Gastric cancer; Gastroenterology; Gastrointestinal surgery; Humans; Laparoscopy; Lymph node examination; Lymph Node Excision - methods; Lymph nodes; Lymph Nodes - pathology; Lymph Nodes - surgery; Male; Medical prognosis; Metastases; Metastasis; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Patient outcomes; Patients; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies; Software; Statistical analysis; Stomach cancer; Stomach Neoplasms - pathology; Surgeons; Surgery; Surgical outcomes; Variance analysis
• ISSN: 1471-230X; 1471-230X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12876-023-03061-2

The D2 procedure has been accepted as the standard treatment for advanced gastric cancer (GC) in East Asia. Determination of the number of lymph nodes (LNs) after gastrectomy may influence the pathological stage assessment of lymph node metastasis, significantly influencing prognostic evaluations and formulation of chemotherapy regimens. Between January 2020 and January 2022, the medical files of 312 patients with clinical stage T0-4aN0-3M0 gastric cancer were reviewed retrospectively, and the patients were assigned to the normal group (lymph nodes were examined roughly), manual group (lymph nodes were manually examined meticulously), and device group (lymph nodes were examined by device). The clinical and pathologic characteristics, number of lymph nodes harvested, and the time required for lymph node examination was compared. A total of 312 gastric cancer patients (mean age 65.8 ± 10.3 years, 85 females and 227 males) underwent gastrectomy with curative intent at our department. Sex, age, body mass index (BMI), tumor size, clinical TNM stage, and pathologic TNM stage in the three groups showed no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05). The mean number of harvested lymph nodes in the normal, manual, and device group was 24.2, 36.6 and 35.2, respectively, which showed significant differences (P