Patterns of lymphatic drainage and lymph node involvement in esophageal cancer.
The esophagus has a complex pattern of lymphatic drainage. Lymph node involvement and number of lymph node metastases are very important prognostic factors, and the newly revised TNM staging system for esophageal cancer reflects this. Knowledge of the location and nomenclature of the common nodal stations in the thorax and upper abdomen is essential for the accurate staging of these patients. PET-CT and EUS are essential in the routine staging of esophageal cancer patients. The aim of this pictorial review is to present the nodal stations, nomenclature and location of regional lymph nodes in esophageal cancer using PET-CT and EUS images from selected patient cases. We will review the EUS and PET-CT imaging for a number of patients with esophageal cancer, using cases which highlight the advantages and diagnostic pitfalls for these imaging modalities.
Department of Radiology, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland. howardjm@tcd.ie
J M
JM
Howard
C
C
Johnston
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D019160:Endosonography; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D004947:Esophagus / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed