[Progress in correlation between lymph node metastasis and prognosis of esophageal cancer]

The status of lymph node metastasis is an important parameter affecting the survival of patients with esophageal carcinoma, which is primarily determined by histological type and the depth of invasion. However, affected by pathological features, heterogeneity and individual differences of tumors, the present staging system of lymph node in esophageal carcinoma has not been unified, the rule of lymph node metastasis remains unclear, and the extent of lymphadenectomy is still controversial. Current lymph node staging system for esophageal carcinoma may be not effective enough, which may lead to inaccurate assessment of the stage and affect the clinicians' choice of treatment modalities, or even affect the conclusions of clinical trials. Therefore, it is essential to optimize the current lymph node staging system for esophageal carcinoma to guide the surgery-based multidisciplinary treatment, and effectively to evaluate the therapeutic effects and predict patients' prognosis.