Outcomes of Extended Lymphadenectomy for Gastroesophageal Carcinoma: A Large Western Series

The extent of lymph node dissection for patients with gastroesophageal carcinoma remains controversial. We sought to examine the perioperative risk and survival outcomes in a large Western series of patients undergoing limited (D0/D1) vs extended (D1+/D2) lymphadenectomy (LAD) for gastroesophageal carcinoma.

Clinicopathologic and treatment factors for 520 patients with gastroesophageal carcinoma undergoing potentially curative resection at a single institution from 1995 to 2017 were analyzed for their impact on perioperative morbidity and mortality, lymph node yield, and overall survival.

A total of 362 (70%) patients underwent D0/D1 LAD and 158 (30%) underwent D1+/D2 LAD. Median follow-up was 3.1 years. Patients undergoing D1+/D2 LAD were more likely to have distal tumors, to undergo distal/subtotal/total gastrectomy, and to undergo operation at a more contemporary time than patients undergoing D0/D1 LAD. The median number of lymph nodes examined and the percentage of patients with 16 or more lymph nodes examined was 16 and 53%, respectively, in the D0/D1 group vs 27 and 89%, respectively, in the D1+/D2 group. There were no differences in the rates of major complications (16.6% vs 14.6%) or operative mortality (2.8% vs 0.6%) between the D0/D1 and D1+/D2 groups, respectively. Patients undergoing D1+/D2 LAD had significantly improved overall survival (hazard ratio 0.74; p = 0.035) compared with those undergoing D0/D1 LAD on univariate analysis, but this survival benefit disappeared when controlling for the time period of operation.

Gastrectomy with extended (D1+/D2) LAD can be performed safely at a high-volume Western center, and it improves nodal yield significantly and ensures accurate pathologic staging.