In patients with oesophageal cancer, the effect of lymphadenectomy on survival remains unclear. A recent retrospective cohort study suggests that extensive lymphadenectomy does not improve survival and might even hamper it in patients with early T-stage tumours. The available data show conflicting results and the introduction of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy might decrease any positive effect of extensive lymphadenectomy on survival.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Altorki, N., Kent, M., Ferrara, C. & Port, J. Three-field lymph node dissection for squamous cell and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. Ann. Surg. 236, 177–183 (2002).
Tong, D. & Law, S. Extended lymphadenectomy in esophageal cancer is crucial. World J. Surg. 37, 1751–1756 (2013).
Cady, B. Lymph node metastases. Indicators, but not governors of survival. Arch. Surg. 119, 1067–1072 (1984).
van der Schaaf, M., Johar, A., Wijnhoven, B., Lagergren, P. & Lagergren, J. Extent of lymph node removal during esophageal cancer surgery and survival. J. Natl Cancer Inst. 107, djv043 (2015).
Hulscher, J. B. et al. Extended transthoracic resection compared with limited transhiatal resection for adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. N. Engl. J. Med. 347, 1662–1669 (2002).
Omloo, J. M. et al. Extended transthoracic resection compared with limited transhiatal resection for adenocarcinoma of the mid/distal esophagus: five-year survival of a randomized clinical trial. Ann. Surg. 246, 992–1000 (2007).
Boshier, P. R., Anderson, O. & Hanna, G. B. Transthoracic versus transhiatal esophagectomy for the treatment of esophagogastric cancer: a meta-analysis. Ann. Surg. 254, 894–906 (2011).
Peyre, C. G. et al. The number of lymph nodes removed predicts survival in esophageal cancer: an international study on the impact of extent of surgical resection. Ann. Surg. 248, 549–556 (2008).
van Hagen, P. et al. Preoperative chemoradiotherapy for esophageal or junctional cancer. N. Engl. J. Med. 366, 2074–2084 (2012).
Talsma, A. K. et al. Lymph node retrieval during esophagectomy with and without neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: prognostic and therapeutic impact on survival. Ann. Surg. 260, 786–793 (2014).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Noordman, B., van Lanschot, J. Effect of lymphadenectomy on survival in oesophageal cancer. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 12, 315–316 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.91
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2015.91
This article is cited by
-
Higher Numbers of Examined Lymph Nodes Are Associated with Increased Survival in Resected, Treatment-Naïve, Node-Positive Esophageal, Gastric, Pancreatic, and Colon Cancers
Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery (2023)
