title: A positive correlation between neutrophils in regional lymph nodes and progression of gastric cancer.
abstract: BACKGROND/AIM: Recent evidence indicates that inflammation is a hallmark of cancer. Tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) contribute to tumor invasion. However, whether TANs and lymph node metastasis are related is unknown. Intranodal lymphatic vessel density (LVD) is significantly correlated with tumor progression, lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer. Herein, we investigated the effects of TANs in regional lymph nodes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated the association of the density of TANs in regional lymph nodes with clinicopathological features by immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, we examined the prognostic value of TANs in lymph nodes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of TANs in regional lymph nodes was positively correlated with intranodal LVD and micrometastases. Patients with higher cluster of differentiation 15(+) TAN counts had significantly poorer prognosis than those with lower counts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that TANs in regional lymph nodes promote the invasion of lymph nodes by cancer cells via augmentation of lymphangiogenesis and thereby contribute to tumor progression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Mao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tokumoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan hiroakitan@med.osaka-cu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaichi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohira
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Go
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okita
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsunobu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toyokawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Naoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Muguruma
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Oncology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Kosei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirakawa
mesh_terms: D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D042583:Lymphangiogenesis / Q000276:immunology; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D042601:Lymphatic Vessels / Q000473:pathology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D016707:Tissue Fixation
keywords: Gastric cancer; intranodal lymphangiogenesis; tumor-associated neutrophils