Abstract:
Objective:To study the necessity and feasibility of periportal lymph node (No12p lymph node) clearance, and the relationship between No12p LN metastasis and clinicopathologic factors in advanced gastric cancer.
Methods: The clinical data of 51 patients with advanced gastric cancer were retrospective analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: No12p LN clearance group and control group. In the clearance group, 30 cases underwent D2 or selective D3 operation with additional No12p LN dissection. The relationship between No12p LN metastasis and clinicopathologic factors was analyzed. The 21 cases in the control group underwent D2 or selective D3 operation without No12p LN dissection. The operation time, bleeding volume, the incidence of postoperative complications and average hospital stay time after operation, between the two groups were compared.
Results:In clearance group, a total of 552 lymph nodes, with an average of 18.4 per case, were removed, and, of them, 112 lymph nodes (21.24%) were found to be metastasis positive. Four of 30 patients (13.33%) had No12p LN metastasis. Metastasis rate of No12p LN was 16.67% in Borrmann types Ⅲ-Ⅳ, 25% in N2-3, 16.67% in T3-4, and 33.33% in cases of tumor mass >4 cm, respectively. The positive No12p LN metastasis rate found in patients with Borrmann types Ⅲ-Ⅳ, N2-3, T3-4 and with tumor mass >4 cm was significantly higher than that in Borrmann typesⅠ-Ⅱ(0%), N0-1 (0%), T1-2 (0%) and tumor mass <4 cm (0%), respectively (P<0.05). The No12p LN metastasis was correlated with No5 lymph node metastasis, but had no evident correlation with histological type of cancer, or tumor located in body or occupied more than 1/3 area of the stomach. There were no significant differences between the two groups in operation bleeding volume and hospital stay time (P﹥0.05), but the operation time of the No12p LN clearance group was longer than that of the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of postoperative complications was 2 cases (6.67%) in No12p LN clearance group and 3 cases (14.29%) in control group. No serious complications or death attributed to surgery were found in any of the groups.
Conclusions:No12p LN clearance is feasible for advanced gastric cancer. The long-term clinical effects of No12p LN clearance on advanced gastric cancer remain to be identified by prospective and large sample studies.