Lymph node dissection does not affect the survival of patients with tumor node metastasis stages I and II colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND

The effect of the number of lymph node dissections (LNDs) during radical resection for colorectal cancer (CRC) on overall survival (OS) remains controversial.

AIM

To investigate the association between the number of LNDs and OS in patients with tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage I-II CRC undergoing radical resection.

METHODS

Patients who underwent radical resection for CRC at a single-center hospital between January 2011 and December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Cox regression analyses were performed to identify the independent predictors of OS at different T stages.

RESULTS

A total of 2850 patients who underwent laparoscopic radical resection for CRC were enrolled. At stage T1, age [ < 0.01, hazard ratio (HR) = 1.075, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.019-1.134] and tumour size ( = 0.021, HR = 3.635, 95%CI: 1.210-10.917) were independent risk factors for OS. At stage T2, age ( < 0.01, HR = 1.064, 95%CI: 1.032-1.098) and overall complications ( = 0.012, HR = 2.297, 95%CI: 1.200-4.397) were independent risk factors for OS. At stage T3, only age ( < 0.01, HR = 1.047, 95%CI: 1.027-1.066) was an independent risk factor for OS. At stage T4, age ( < 0.01, HR = 1.057, 95%CI: 1.039-1.075) and body mass index ( = 0. 034, HR = 0.941, 95%CI: 0.890-0.995) were independent risk factors for OS. However, there was no association between LNDs and OS in stages I and II.

CONCLUSION

The number of LDNs did not affect the survival of patients with TNM stages I and II CRC. Therefore, insufficient LNDs should not be a cause for alarm during the surgery.