Evaluating the impact of lymph node resampling on colorectal cancer nodal stage

Number of Lymph Nodes Examined as a Prognosis Factor in Patients With Stage II or III Colon Cancer

BACKGROUND

Lymph node (LN) examination is important for staging colorectal cancer. Examining < 12 LN has been associated with a poor prognosis. However, surgical and pathological advances have led to increase examined LN, necessitating the reassessment of the best cutoff for prognosis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We reviewed patients with stage II-III colon cancer from the Yonsei Cancer Center Registry (YCC) database and the Netherlands Cancer Registry (NCR). The optimal LN cutoff was determined by comparison with hazard ratio (HR) in 12 LN. We compared higher vs. lower LN cutoff effects on a 6-year overall survival (OS).

RESULTS

From 2005 to 2015, the proportion with < 12 LN decreased significantly (P < .001). There was no significant association between 6-year OS and LN yield in all stages II-III patients (HR = 1.21, P = .116), stage II (HR = 1.39, P = .068), and stage III (HR = 1.18, P = .297) colon cancer based on the standard 12 LN examined, whereas the 20 LN cutoff examined was associated with a significant increase in 6-year OS in all patients (HR = 1.51, P < .001). Multivariate regression revealed a significant decrease in 6-year OS in stage II (HR = 1.39, P = .026) and stage III (HR = 1.47, P < .001) with < 20 LN yield. In the NCR, < 20 LN was associated with poorer 6-year OS in stage II-III patients (HR = 1.25, P < .001), stage II (HR = 1.43, P < .001), and stage III (HR = 1.13, P = .007).

CONCLUSION

Over the past decade, inadequate LN examinations have significantly decreased. Compared to < 12 LN, < 20 LN examined is more associated with a worse prognosis in patients who underwent surgery.

Impact of lymph node retrieval on prognosis in elderly and non-elderly patients with T3-4/N+ rectal cancer following neoadjuvant therapy: a retrospective cohort study

PURPOSE

The optimal number of lymph nodes to be resected in patients with rectal cancer who undergo radical surgery after neoadjuvant therapy remains controversial. This study evaluated the prognostic variances between elderly and non-elderly patients and determined the ideal number of lymph nodes to be removed in these patients.

METHODS

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) datasets were used to gather information on 7894 patients diagnosed with stage T3-4/N+ rectal cancer who underwent neoadjuvant therapy from 2010 to 2019. Of these patients, 2787 were elderly and 5107 were non-elderly. A total of 152 patients from the Longyan First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University were used for external validation. Overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were evaluated to determine the optimal quantity of lymph nodes for surgical resection.

RESULTS

The study found significant differences in OS and CSS between elderly and non-elderly patients, both before and after adjustment for confounders (P < 0.001). The removal of 14 lymph nodes may be considered a benchmark for patients with stage T3-4/N+ rectal cancer who undergo radical surgery following neoadjuvant therapy, as this number provides a more accurate foundation for the personalized treatment of rectal cancer. External data validated the differences in OS and CSS and supported the 14 lymph nodes as a new benchmark in these patients.

CONCLUSION

For patients with T3-4/N+ stage rectal cancer who undergo radical surgery following neoadjuvant therapy, the removal of 14 lymph nodes serves as a cutoff point that distinctly separates patients with a favorable prognosis from those with an unfavorable one.

Predicting treatment failure in stage III colon cancer patients after radical surgery

Purpose

The aim to assess treatment failure in patients with stage III colon cancer who underwent radical surgery and was analyzed using the nomogram.

Methods

Clinical factors and survival outcomes for stage III colon cancer patients registered in the SEER database from 2018 to 2019 were analyzed, with patients split into training and testing cohorts (7:3 ratio). A total of 360 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Longyan served as an external validation cohort. Independent predictors of treatment failure were identified using logistic regression analyses. The nomograms was evaluated by concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, and the area under the curve (AUC), decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curves (CIC) assessed the clinical utility of nomograms versus TNM staging.

Results

The study included 4,115 patients with stage III colon cancer. Multivariate logistic analysis age, tumor site, pT stage, pN stage, chemotherapy, pretreatment CEA levels, number of harvested lymph nodes, perineural invasion and marital status were identified as independent risk factors for treatment failure. The C-indices for the training and testing sets were 0.853 and 0.841. Validation by ROC and calibration curves confirmed the stability and reliability of the model. DCA showed that the net clinical effect of the histogram was superior to that of the TNM staging system, while CIC highlighted the potentially large clinical impact of the model.

Conclusions

The developed Nomogram provides a powerful and accurate tool for clinicians to assess the risk of treatment failure after radical surgery in patients with stage III colon cancer.

Identifying Recurrences Among Non-Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Using National Health Data Registries: Validation and Optimization of a Registry-Based Algorithm in a Modern Danish Cohort

Purpose

Colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence is not routinely recorded in Danish health data registries. Here, we aimed to revalidate a registry-based algorithm to identify recurrences in a contemporary cohort and to investigate the accuracy of estimating the time to recurrence (TTR).

Patients and Methods

We ascertained data on 1129 patients operated for UICC TNM stage I-III CRC during 2012-2017 registered in the CRC biobank at the Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. Individual-level data were linked with data from the Danish Colorectal Cancer Group database, Danish Cancer Registry, Danish National Registry of Patients, and Danish Pathology Registry. The algorithm identified recurrence based on diagnosis codes of local recurrence or metastases, the receipt of chemotherapy, or a pathological tissue assessment code of recurrence more than 180 days after CRC surgery. A subgroup was selected for validation of the algorithm using medical record reviews as a reference standard.

Results

We found a 3-year cumulative recurrence rate of 20% (95% CI: 17-22%). Manual medical record review identified 80 recurrences in the validation cohort of 522 patients. The algorithm detected recurrence with 94% sensitivity (75/80; 95% CI: 86-98%) and 98% specificity (431/442; 95% CI: 96-99%). The positive and negative predictive values of the algorithm were 87% (95% CI: 78-93%) and 99% (95% CI: 97-100%), respectively. The median difference in TTR (TTR_{Medical_chart}-TTR_algorithm) was -8 days (IQR: -21 to +3 days). Restricting the algorithm to chemotherapy codes from oncology departments increased the positive predictive value from 87% to 94% without changing the negative predictive value (99%).

Conclusion

The algorithm detected recurrence and TTR with high precision in this contemporary cohort. Restriction to chemotherapy codes from oncology departments using department classifications improves the algorithm. The algorithm is suitable for use in future observational studies.

Diagnostic value of spiral CT energy spectrum imaging in lymph node metastasis of colorectal cancer

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the value of preoperative CT energy spectrum imaging in detecting lymph node metastasis of colorectal cancer.

METHODS

From September 2019 to November 2021, a retrospective study was performed for the eighty-two patients with colorectal cancer through preoperative colonoscopy or surgical pathology confirmed in our hospital. Based on the lymph node metastasis status, these cases were divided into the metastasis and non-metastasis groups. GE Revolution CT scanner was used to scan the patients with energy spectrum imaging, it measured and recorded the single-energy CT values from 40 to 140 keV and various energy spectrum parameters of lymph nodes around the lesions in the arterial and venous phases, and statistically analyze the above indices.

RESULTS

In the arterial and venous phases: the single-energy CT values of 40-140 keV in the non-metastatic group were higher than those in the metastatic group (all P < 0.05); the parameter values of IC (iodine concentration), NIC (normalized iodine concentration), λ (the slope of the energy spectrum curve), and Eff-Z (effective-Z) in the non-metastatic group were higher than those in the metastatic group (all P < 0.05). Further evaluation of ROC curve showed that the higher AUC (area under curve) of the single-energy CT value of 50 keV in the arterial phase was 0.889, among the energy spectrum parameters of IC, NIC, λ, and Eff-Z, the NIC had the better diagnostic efficiency and the AUC of the NIC was 0.873, the highest AUC of the combination of NIC and λ was 0.885 when the energy spectrum parameters were combined. The higher AUC of the single-energy CT value of 60 keV in the venous phase was 0.853, among the energy spectrum parameters of IC, NIC, λ, and Eff-Z, the λ had the better diagnostic efficiency and the AUC of the λ was 0.822, the higher AUC of the combination of NIC, λ, and Eff-Z was 0.840 when the energy spectra were combined.

CONCLUSIONS

Parameters of energy spectrum CT imaging can effectively evaluate whether lymph nodes have metastases, and provide favorable imaging diagnosis basis for the range and the number of lymph nodes to be cleaned during clinical operation and can evaluate the prognosis of patients. It is worthy of clinical recommendation.

Pathologists' assistants, an essential healthcare workforce: the experience of a surgical pathology department in Italy

AIMS

The progressive increase of both the workload and the complexity of laboratory procedures, along with shortage of staff, has made evident the need to increase the efficiency in the pathology departments. To support the pathologists, a new technical professional role, the pathologists' assistant (PA), has been introduced.

METHODS

We decided to carry out a retrospective analysis on PAs' performance. This was compared with that of junior/senior pathologists in the amount and type of surgical specimens examined, the number of lymph node retrieved in colorectal resections, the number of cases needing a second grossing procedure and the average time spent in grossing. As the COVID-19 pandemic period in fact resulted in a dramatic reduction of histological cases in our department, we divided PA activities into two periods, according to the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

'Simple' specimens made up the majority (92%) of the specimens examined by PAs in pre-COVID-19 period while 'complex' specimens, often neoplastic, represented the minor part (7%). However, 'simple' specimens dropped to 81% and 'complex' specimens rose to 18% in the COVID-19 period, when PAs had the chance to test themselves with more complicated surgical samples, under the supervision of a pathologist. Lymph node retrieval rate and average time spent in grossing are in line with literature data and confirm that PAs performance is comparable with pathologists' one, in selected settings.

CONCLUSION

In our experience, PA has represented a fundamental time-saving resource for the pathologists, who can devote time almost exclusively to diagnostic reporting.