ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION:

Colorectal cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality following lung and prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship of lymph node number with prognosis and prognostic factors during colorectal cancer surgery.

METHODS:

One hundred seventy-two patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer were retrospectively evaluated in terms of age, gender, tumor diameter/location, tumor invasion depth, tumor stage, and survival.

RESULTS:

Mean (SD) number of excised lymph nodes was 15.87 (7.62) (median, 14). Patients ≥65 years of age had significantly lower mean number of lymph nodes and metastatic lymph nodes than other age groups (p<0.05). No significant gender-related effect on lymph node metastasis was noted (p>0.05). The mean number of lymph nodes excised from the right colon was higher than the left colon (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference between tumor locations in terms of the number of metastatic lymph nodes (p>0.05). Patients with lymph node metastasis had a greater tumor diameter than those without (p<0.01). Most of the lymph nodes were staged as N0 (44.2%). Mortality was higher in the N2 group compared to other groups (p<0.05). The number of excised lymph nodes was higher in stages III-IV than stages I-II (p<0.01).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:

Advanced age, tumor diameter/location, tumor invasion depth, and tumor stage affect lymph node involvement and excised lymph node number in colorectal cancer