Pattern of solitary lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer and its clinical significance / 中华胃肠外科杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the pattern of solitary lymph node metastasis in order to offer more suitable treatment for patients with gastric cancer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty-five patients received operation between July 1999 and June 2004 with only 1 metastatic lymph node identified by postoperative pathological examination were included in the study. Data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS 13.0.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Univariable analysis showed that only the tumor diameter differed significantly between patients with skipping metastatic (SM) lymph node and those without SM (chi(2)=4.447, P=0.035). No clinicopathological factors showed statistically differences between patients with lymph node transverse metastasis (TM) and those without TM. However, both of two comparative groups showed statistically differences in long-term survival (P=0.000, P=0.000).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Most lymph node metastasis in gastric cancer follows the rule of "near-to-far", but some special metastasis patterns (SM, TM) are not rare. Proper lymph node dissection especially for patients with high risk should be performed to reduce tumor recurrence and improve long-time survival.</p>