title: Detection of lymph node metastases in oesophageal cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The importance of lymph node status in oesophageal cancer cannot be disputed. It is therefore surprising that no standardization exists in either terminology or methodology in lymph node analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  All online databases were searched to identify articles published from 1970 onwards. This was supplemented by hand searching references of retrieved articles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Without accurate identification of lymph node metastases, patients cannot be staged properly, nor can best practice for the treatment of oesophageal cancer be determined. This review outlines the problem and proposes recommendations for standardization in terminology and methodology for the detection of lymph node metastases in oesophageal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Jamieson
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D009626:Terminology as Topic