title: The size of retrieved lymph nodes correlates with the number of retrieved lymph nodes and is an independent prognostic factor in patients with stage II colon cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In stage II colon cancer, patients with many retrieved lymph nodes (LNs) have been reported to have better oncological outcomes. We tested the hypothesis that the greater number of retrieved LNs is related to a larger LN size.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects comprised 320 patients with stage II colon cancer who underwent curative resection. All operations were elective and were performed by the same surgeons. The maximum long axis and short axis diameters of LNs were measured on hematoxylin-eosin-stained specimens.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 4,744 LNs were evaluated. The number of retrieved LNs was 14.8 ± 10.1 (mean ± SD). The long axis diameter was 4.8 ± 2.6 mm, with a median value of 4.3 mm, a maximum value of 20.4 mm, and a minimum value of 0.6 mm. The corresponding short axis diameters were 3.4 ± 1.7, 3.0, 15.1, and 0.5 mm, respectively. The highest correlation coefficient for the association with the number of LNs was obtained for the maximum value of the long axis diameter (0.59). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, tumor location, pathological T stage, and the maximum long axis diameter were independent prognostic factors. The number of LNs was not a significant factor. Patients with less than 12 LNs and a maximum long axis diameter of less than 10 mm had significantly poorer outcomes (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients with stage II colon cancer, the maximum long axis diameter of LNs correlated with the number of LNs and was an independent prognostic factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tokai University, 143 Shimokasuya Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazutake
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tokai University, 143 Shimokasuya Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan. sadahiro@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Sotaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadahiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tokai University, 143 Shimokasuya Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tokai University, 143 Shimokasuya Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tokai University, 143 Shimokasuya Isehara, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan.
authors.forename: Gota
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinobu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Science, Tokai University, Isehara, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Haruki
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008197:Lymph Node Excision; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: Adenocarcinoma; Colonic neoplasm; Lymph nodes; Retrospective study; Survival analysis