Controversy and consensus on lateral lymph node dissection for rectal cancer / 中国实用外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Lateral lymph node metastasis is a common problem in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with low rectal cancer. Eastern and western scholars are still controversial about the combination of lateral lymph node dissection in TME surgery for middle and low rectal cancer.The study of correlation between laparoscopic or robotassisted lateral lymph node dissection and open surgery is still in retrospective analysis, and prospective cohort studies are needed to further confirm their superiority. Whether neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy can replace lateral lymph node dissection is still inconclusive, and it is related to the cognition that the lateral lymph node metastasis belongs to the regional or the systemic metastasis of the oriental and occidental scholars.