HOUSTON, March 20, 2007 -- The more lymph nodes removed and evaluated during colon cancer resection, the better the outcome, reported investigators here. When more than 20 lymph nodes are evaluated, there is a 14% increase in five-year survival, reported George Chang, M.D., of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues, in the March 21 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. "Currently just over one-third of colon cancer patients in the United States are getting an adequate lymph node evaluation," said Dr. Chang and colleagues, who conducted a systematic review. The number of lymph nodes recovered from a patient with colon cancer has been identified as a potentially important measure of the quality of cancer care by many organizations, including the American College of Surgeons."

If you had surgery for colorectal cancer ask your surgeon how many lymph node were recovered in the resected specimen, the higher the number the more meaningful the staging and the final prognostic value. (Francesco Grasso, M.D.). 

Francesco Grasso, M.D.