Optimal Extent of Lymph Node Dissection for Non-Metastatic Colon Cancer by Tumor Location: Evaluation of the...

To determine the optimal extent of lymph node dissection for non-metastatic colon cancer by tumor location based on the therapeutic value index (TVI) for each lymph node station.

Consecutive patients with surgical stage I-III colon or rectosigmoid cancer in the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum database who underwent curative resection between January 2003 and December 2014 were analyzed. The TVI was defined as the incidence of lymph node metastasis multiplied by 5-year overall survival and calculated for each nodal station stratified by tumor location.

A total of 33 231 patients were eligible for analysis. In cecal cancer, the TVI was 2.086 for nodal station #203, but only 0.000 for #213. In ascending colon cancer, the TVI was 1.080 for #203 and 0.644 for #213, but only 0.178 for #223. In transverse colon cancer, the TVI was 1.942 for #223, but only 0.066 for #213 and 0.159 for #203. In descending colon cancer, the TVI was 0.215 for #253. The TVI was 1.172 for #253 in sigmoid colon cancer and 1.155 for #253 in rectosigmoid cancer.

Considering that a previous systematic review reported TVIs in the range of 0.295-0.576 for the para-aortic lymph nodes in patients with colorectal cancer, dissection of the main lymph nodes along the feeding artery has a therapeutic value in non-metastatic colon cancers. Meanwhile, the significance of #253 dissection for descending colon cancer requires further discussion.