title: Effect of preoperative colonoscopic tattooing on lymph node harvest in T1 colorectal cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to identify the impact of preoperative colonoscopic tattooing (PCT) on lymph node harvest in T1 colorectal cancer patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and forty-three patients were included who underwent curative resection and were diagnosed with T1 colorectal cancer. These patients were categorized into the tattooing group and the non-tattooing group depending on whether preoperative India ink tattooing was done. Clinicopathological findings and lymph node harvest were compared between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median number of lymph nodes examined was 18 in the tattooing group and 13 in the non-tattooing group (p < 0.001). The rate of adequate lymph node harvest (retrieval of more than 12 lymph nodes) was higher in the tattooing group than that in the non-tattooing group (83.7 vs. 58.5 %, p = 0.002). The PCT was significantly associated with adequate lymph node harvest in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 3.8; 95 % confidence interval, 1.5-9.2; p = 0.003). Among the 40 patients who showed at least one carbon particle-containing lymph nodes, the positive lymph node rate was not different between carbon-containing LNs (0.9 %) and non-carbon-containing LNs (1.7 %).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PCT was associated with higher lymph node yield in T1 colorectal cancer. It is questionable if tattooing has additional detection power as a sentinel lymph node mapping tool in T1 colorectal cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-720, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jeonghyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
authors.forename: Heae Surng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-720, South Korea.
authors.forename: Im-kyung
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-720, South Korea.
authors.forename: Younghae
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-720, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Hyuk
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Baik
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-720, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Kook
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, South Korea. kylee117@yuhs.ac.
authors.forename: Kang Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003113:Colonoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008197:Lymph Node Excision / Q000379:methods*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods; D011300:Preoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D013653:Tattooing
keywords: Colorectal cancer; Lymph node; Preoperative colonoscopy; T1; Tattooing