Lymph Node Yield in XXXX : Individuals Can Make the Difference.

@entity1 @entity694 @entity5
AIM: To investigate the influence of individual surgeons and pathologists on examining an adequate (i.e. >= 10) number of lymph nodes in @entity694 resection specimens. @entity1 AND METHODS: The number of lymph nodes was evaluated in surgically treated @entity1 for @entity694 at our hospital from 2008 through 2010, excluding @entity1 who had received neo-adjuvant treatment. The @entity1 group consisted of 156 @entity1 with a median age of 73 (interquartile range (IQR) 63-82 years) and a median of 12 lymph nodes per @entity1 (IQR 8-15). In 106 @entity1 (67.9%), 10 or more nodes were histopathologically examined. RESULTS: At univariate analysis, the examination of >= 10 nodes was influenced by @entity5 size (p = 0.05), @entity5 location (p = 0.015), type of resection (p = 0.034), individual surgeon (p = 0.023), and pathologist (p = 0.005). Neither individual surgeons nor pathologists did statistically and significantly influence the chance of finding an N+ status. Age (p = 0.044), type of resection (p = 0.007), individual surgeon (p = 0.012) and pathologist (p = 0.004) were independent prognostic factors in a multivariate model for finding >= 10 nodes. CONCLUSION: Though @entity5 staging was not affected in this study, individual efforts by surgeons and pathologists play a critical role in achieving optimal lymph node yield through conventional methods.    2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.
