title: Number of negative lymph nodes as a prognostic factor in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study is to investigate the number of negative lymph nodes (NLNs) as a prognostic factor for survival in patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 381 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients who had underwent surgical resection as the primary treatment was enrolled into this retrospective study. The impact of number of NLNs on patient's overall survival was assessed and compared with the factors among the current tumor-nodes-metastasis (TNM) staging system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of NLNs was closely related to the overall survival, and the 5-year survival rate was 45.4% for number of NLNs of >20 (142 cases) and 26.4% for NLNs ≤ 20 (239 cases) (P = 0.001). In multivariate survival analysis, the number of NLNs remained an independent prognostic factor (P = 0.002) as did the other current TNM factors. For subgroup analysis, the predictive value of number of NLNs was significant in patients with T3 or T4 disease (P = 0.001) and patients with N1 and N2-3 disease (P = 0.025, 0.043), but not in patients with T1 or T2 disease or patients with N0 disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The number of NLNs, which represents the extent of lymphadenectomy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, could impact the overall survival of patients with resected esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, especially among those with nodal-positive disease and advanced T-stage tumor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Esophageal Tumor, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.|Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Mingquan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Esophageal Tumor, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.|Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Esophageal Tumor, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.|Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Hongjing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Esophageal Tumor, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.|Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Esophageal Tumor, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.|Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Esophageal Tumor, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.|Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.affiliation: Department of Esophageal Tumor, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, China.|Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Zhentao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D000077277:Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; negative lymph nodes; survival