title: Biologic and clinical significance of lymphadenectomy.
abstract: Interest in the lymphatic system and its relationship to metastases has developed owing to renewed interest in sentinel node biopsy. This article summarizes the anatomy, physiology, and biology of the lymphatic system and lymph node metastases, and reviews studies of lymph node metastases and surgical resection of cancers in different anatomic sites. On the basis of these studies, the authors conclude that lymph node metastasis functions as an indicator of prognosis, not the controlling or determining factor of prognosis. Thus, varying degrees of treatment of regional lymph nodes and metastases do not seem to be controlling factors in the outcome of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, Piscataway, USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gervasoni
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Taneja
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cady
mesh_terms: D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D001661:Biliary Tract Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000473:pathology; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D004379:Duodenal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008208:Lymphatic System / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology; D008954:Models, Biological; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology