ObjectiveTo evaluate the safety and necessity of recurrent laryngeal lymph node resection by comparing the complications and prognosis of patients with recurrent laryngeal nerve injury receiving different recurrent laryngeal lymph node resections.MethodsWe reviewed the clinical data of 153 patients with stage T1N0M0 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent radical esophageal cancer surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology from June 2014 to May 2016. Among them, 125 were male and 28 were female, at an average age of 62 years. All patients underwent bilateral recurrent laryngeal nodes sampling. They were divided into 3 groups according to the dissection situation: patients with only one recurrent laryngeal lymph node resection on both sides during the operation were treated as a sampling group (n=49); patients with only one recurrent laryngeal lymph node resection on one side and more than one recurrent laryngeal lymph nodes resection on the other side were treated as a unilateral dissection group (n=49); patients with more than one recurrent laryngeal lymph nodes resection on both sides were treated as a bilateral dissection group (n=55). Follow-up was performed to compare the prognostic differences among the three groups. Seven days after the operation, the vocal cords of the patients were examined with an electronic laryngoscope and classified using the Clavien-Dindo system. The differences in complications related to recurrent laryngeal nerve injury among the three groups were compared.ResultsThe 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of the patients in the sampling group, unilateral dissection group and bilateral dissection group was 66.8%, 88.5%, 93.8%, respectively. There was statistical difference between the sampling group and the unilateral dissection group or the bilateral dissection group (P<0.05), and no statistical difference between the unilateral dissection group and the bilateral dissection group (P>0.05). The incidence of complications among the three groups was not statistically different (P>0.05).ConclusionFor patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma of stage T1N0M0, the lymph nodes of the bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerves should be removed during the operation as many as possible, which will help improve the 5-year survival rate of the patients.
Objective To identify the feasibility of the lymphatic mapping and sentinel node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with breast cancer and to examine whether the characteristics of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) accurately predict the status of axillary lymph node.MethodsFrom March to October 2000, 32 patients with breast cancer were evaluated at the Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital. Lymphatic mapping was performed using Methlene Blue. A SLN was defined as any blue node. Thirtytwo patients, with breast cancer underwent a complete axillary lymph node resection (ALNR) following SLN biopsy. Subsequently, all SLNs and ALNs were examined by both Hamp;E staining as well as immunohistochemical staining for cytokeratin. ResultsLymphatic mapping was successful in identifying the SLN in 26/32(81.25%) cases of nodes at level Ⅰ. Of the 26 patients mapped successfully, 10 had metastasis to the SLNs.In 3 cases that SLNs were positive, but other axillary lymph nodes were negative. In 2 cases that the SLNs were negative, but other axillary lymph nodes were positive. The sensitivity of SLNB using Methlene Blue in this study was 77.78%(7/9), accuracy 80.77%(21/26), specificity 82.35%(14/17), and false negative rate 22.22%(2/9). ConclusionSLN can predict the status of the axillary lymph nodes reliably. However, the efficacy of SLNB in the setting of randomized, prospective trials must be tested first before abandoning axillary lymph node resection as the standard of care.
Objective
To explore risk factors of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in T1 rectal cancer.
Methods
The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathologic data of 247 patients with T1 rectal cancer underwent radical resection were analyzed in the pathological database of the West China Hospital from January 2000 to December 2016, including the tumor size (maximum diameter), gross type, differentiation degree, histological type, lymph vascular infiltration, perineural infiltration, and carcinoma nodule. The univariate analysis and multivariate analysis were done using the Chi-square test and logistic regression model, respectively.
Results
The rate of LNM in the patients with T1 rectal cancer was 8.50% (21/247). No lymph metastasis was found in the well differentiated T1 rectal cancer. The results of the univariate analysis showed that the differentiation degree, histological type, and carcinoma nodule were related to the LNM in the T1 rectal cancer (P<0.050). The results of the multivariate analysis revealed that the poor differentiation, mucinous adenocarcinoma, signet-ring cell carcinoma, and carcinoma nodule were the independent risk factors of the LNM in the T1 rectal cancer (OR=9.75, P=0.006; OR=5.98, P=0.042; OR=8.33, P=0.017; OR=10.87, P=0.026).
Conclusion
In this large population dataset, poor differentiation, mucinous adenocarcinoma, signet-ring cell carcinoma, and carcinoma nodule are risk factors of LNM in T1 rectal cancer.
Objective
To review the current progress of clinical and experimental research of vascularized lymph node transfer for lymphedema.
Methods
The domestic and abroad literature about vascularized lymph node transfer in treatment of lymphedema was reviewed and analyzed.
Results
Experimental studies in animal model indicate that vascularized lymph node transfer can improve lymph node survival and show a promising effectiveness in reducing lymphedema. " Lymphatic wick” and " lymph pump” were the two main hypotheses proposed to explain the potential functional mechanism of vascularized lymph node transfer in treatment of lymphedema. Improvement in lymphedema symptoms are reported in most of the clinical trials, but the level of evidence to advocate this procedure in the treatment of lymphedema remains low because of the small number of the cases and problems in their methodologies.
Conclusion
Based on current evidence, vascularized lymph node transfer seems to be a promising treatment for lymphedema, but long-term well-designed studies are required to further explore the effectiveness of this procedure.
Objective To explore the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in axillary and internal mammary lymph node metastasis of invasive breast cancer. Methods A total of 100 patients with invasive breast cancer treated from September 2020 to September 2022 were selected. Preoperative CEUS examination was completed, and the perfusion sequence, enhancement mode and enhancement sequence of lymph nodes were dynamically observed. The CEUS characteristics of metastatic and benign lymph nodes were compared. Using postoperative pathological results as the gold standard, the diagnostic efficacy of CEUS in evaluating lymph node status was analyzed. Results Among the 100 patients, 28 patients were diagnosed with metastatic axillary lymph nodes (ALN) by pathological biopsy. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive prediction rate and negative prediction rate of CEUS in evaluating ALN status were 71.4%, 87.5%, 83.0%, 69.0% and 88.7%, respectively. In 9 patients, CEUS showed internal mammary lymph node metastasis, and postoperative pathological examination confirmed that 5 patients had internal mammary lymph node metastasis, so the positive predictive rate of CEUS was 55.6%. Conclusion CEUS can evaluate the metastatic status of axillary and internal mammary lymph nodes.
Objective To explore the bacterial translocation of mesenteric lymph nodes （MLNs） of the ileum and the spectrum of bacteria in patients with small bowel obstruction.Methods Total 84 patients were divided into study group （with small bowel obstruction） and control group （without small bowel obstruction）. MLNs were obtained under sterile conditions intraoperatively， and which were processed for culture of aerobic and anaerobic organisms. The rate of bacterial translocation and postoperative infection were compared between two groups and the species of bacterial translocation was identified. Results The bacterial translocation rate in the study group was higher than that in the control group 〔57.1% （24/42） versus 16.7% （7/42），χ2=14.775， P＜0.01〕. Escherichia coil was the most commonly bacteria （20）. Emergency surgery and age over 70 years were associated with bacterial translocation （P＜0.05）. Postoperative infection complications rate in the bacterial translocation patients was higher than that in the patients without bacterial translocation 〔29.0% （9/31） versus 3.8% （2/53），χ2=10.965，P＜0.05〕. Conclusions Bacterial translocation to MLNs occurres more frequently in patients with small bowel obstruction，non-elective surgery， and elderly.
ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between metastatic lymph node ratio (MLNR) and prognosis of patients after radical resection of distal gastric cancer.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of 408 patients undergoing radical resection of distal gastric cancer (D2 or D2+ lymph node dissection) in Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery in the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, from January 2010 to January 2014. Then we explored the influence of MLNR on the prognosis after radical resection of distal gastric cancer.ResultsWithout distinguishing pTNM staging, the overall survival situation of patient with MLNR≥0.15 and patient with MLNR<0.15 was statistically significant (χ2=3.775, P=0.046); when patients with staging of pTNM Ⅰ, there was no statistically significant MLNR could be calculated; when patients with staging of pTNM Ⅱ, the overall survival situation of patient with MLNR≥0.14 and patient with MLNR<0.14 was statistically significant (χ2=3.110, P=0.029); when patients with staging of pTNM Ⅲ, the overall survival situation of patient with MLNR≥0.10 and patient with MLNR<0.10 was statistically significant (χ2=1.631, P=0.004). Multivariate analysis showed that depth of invasion (pT stage) and MLNR were independent prognostic factors for prognosis of patients after radical resection of distal gastric cancer (P<0.05).ConclusionMLNR is a good prognostic indicator for patients with distal gastric cancer after radical resection.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of thyroid globulin antibody (TgAb) and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) statuses on central lymph node (CLN) metastasis in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed on 526 patients with DTC confirmed by pathology from nine participating institutions, who underwent the bilateral thyroidectomy plus bilateral CLN dissection. The clinicopathologic characteristics of different TGAb and TPOAb statuses of patients with DTC were compared, and whether the TGAb and TPOAb statuses were the independent risk factors of CLN metastasis in DTC patients or not was analyzed.ResultsAll of 526 patients with DTC were included in this study, 152 were males and 374 were females. The age was (44±11) years old. There were 63 cases of TgAb＋TPOAb＋, 60 cases of TgAb＋TPOAb－, 30 cases of TgAb－TPOAb＋, and 373 cases of TgAb－TPOAb－. It was found that there was a significant difference in the gender among the four different antibody statuses of patients, that was, women with abnormal antibodies were more common (P<0.001), not found that there were related to the tumor size, blood vessel invasion, nerve invasion, CLN metastasis, tumor multifocality, and bilateral tumor or not (P>0.050). In this study, there were 389 cases of CLN with metastasis and 137 cases of CLN without metastasis. The results of multivariate analysis found that the age and gender of the patients were the independent risk factors (P<0.001), but didn’t find the TgAb and TPOAb Statuses and other factors were related to the CLN metastasis (P>0.050).ConclusionsStatuses of TGAb and TPOAb aren’t obviously associated with CLN metastasis in patients with DTC, which is inconsistent with other studies. It needs to be further researched after expanding existing sample size and determining new predictive factors.
Objective To summarize the relation between tumor location and lymph node metastasis in early stage of breast cancer, which is aimed at providing a more individualized treatment for breast cancer patients. Method The literatures about breast cancer location and lymph node metastasis in recent years were extracted, through the literatures study we made a thematic review of the relation between them. Results There were two main classification methods for the location of breast tumors at present: tumor in the different quadrants and tumor to skin distance. In the quadrant classification method, the tumor in the upper inner quadrant (UIQ) had the lowest lymph node metastasis rate, while the lower inner quadrant (LIQ) tumor recurrence-free survival rate and overall survival rate were significantly lower than other quadrants. When measuring tumor to skin distance, the closer the tumor was to the skin, the more likely lymph node metastasis occurred. In combination with the distribution, histology, and anatomical differences of lymphatic and lymphatic networks, our study group proposed to classify tumors according to different anatomical levels of the breast, thus the anatomic location of the tumor was divided into four types: constricted in the gland, break the anterior gland, break the posterior gland, and break both anterior and posterior gland. Conclusions Regardless of the way the location is classified, the location of breast tumors is closely related to lymphatic and lymph node metastasis. The new classification according to the distribution of tumors at different anatomical levels of the breast accords with the law of lymphatic metastasis is scientific and reasonable. Therefore, during clinical practices, we recommend to use the new method to classify tumor location, and we should consider the differences in the location of the patients’ tumor to assess the status of axillary lymph node, which may provide a more individualized treatment for breast cancer patients.
ObjectiveTo analyze the factors influencing the total number of harvested lymph nodes in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer.MethodsThe clinicopathologic data of patients who underwent laparoscopic D2 radical resection of gastric cancer in this hospital for advanced gastric cancer from January 2018 to July 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The statistical analysis was conducted to analyze the influence factors (age, gender, tumor size, tumor site, body mass index, infiltration depth, lymph node metastasis, HER-2 gene amplification status, presence or absence of vascular tumor thrombus, presence or absence of nerve infiltration, differentiation type, pTNM, Borrmann type, and type of gastrectomy) on the number of harvested lymph nodes.ResultsA total of 536 patients met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included. The results of univariate analysis showed that the total number of harvested lymph nodes during laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer was correlated with age, tumor size, tumor infiltration depth, lymph node metastasis, pTNM stage, Borrmann type, and type of gastrectomy. That was, the younger the patient was (≤ 54 years old), the larger the tumor was (long diameter >3.5 cm), the later the Borrmann classification was (type Ⅲ, Ⅳ), the deeper the tumor invasion was, the more the number of lymph node metastasis was, the later the pTNM stage was, and the more the number of lymph nodes was detected in patients undergoing total gastrectomy (all P<0.05). The multiple linear regression analysis showed that the age, lymph node metastasis, and PTNM stage had significant effects on the number of harvested lymph nodes. The multiple linear regression model was statistically significant (F=6.754, P<0.001). 11.2% of the variation in the number of harvested lymph nodes could be explained by the age, lymph node metastasis, and pTNM stage (adjusted R2=11.2%). ConclusionsNumber of harvested lymph nodes in laparoscopic radical gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer is greatly affected by the age of patients, lymph node metastasis, and pTNM stage. So patients should be evaluated objectively and individually according to their age so as to harvest sufficient number of lymph nodes, which is conducive to accurately judge pTNM stage, formulate accurate adjuvant treatment scheme, and improve prognosis of patients.
