Re-evaluating the prognostic validity of the negative to positive lymph node ratio in node-positive gastric cancer patients

Role of elective neck dissection in prognosis of N0M0 maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma: Insights from SEER database analysis

BACKGROUND

The optimal management of cervical lymph nodes in N0M0 maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma (MSSCC) remains a subject of debate. This study aimed to investigate the impact of elective neck dissection (END) on the prognosis of N0M0 MSSCC patients and explore potential prognostic factors.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was conducted using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to minimize bias between the END and non-END groups. Cox regression analysis was performed to identify prognostic factors, and subgroup analyses were conducted based on patient characteristics. Furthermore, the optimal number of lymph nodes in END was determined using maximally selected test statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 777 N0M0 MSSCC patients were included in the study. After PSM, patients who underwent END demonstrated significantly improved overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) compared to those who did not undergo END (p < 0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed a favorable prognosis for patients receiving radiotherapy and END, with a hazard ratio of 0.729 (95% CI: 0.549-0.967; p = 0.029) for OS. Furthermore, patients with a lymph node count greater than 5 in END had significantly better OS and CSS compared to those with 5 or fewer lymph nodes (p = 0.013, p = 0.018, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that END provides a survival benefit for N0M0 MSSCC patients. Additionally, a lymph node count greater than 5 in END is associated with improved staging accuracy and better prognosis. Prospective research is needed to validate these findings and inform clinical decision-making for N0M0 MSSCC patients.

Negative Lymph Node Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Stage III Gastric Cancer Patients After Curative Gastrectomy: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Based Study

BACKGROUND

Negative lymph node (NLN)' s prognostic impact on stage III gastric cancer (GC) patients after curative gastrectomy has not been rigorously studied. We aimed to explore the relationship between NLNs count and outcomes of stage III GC patients.

METHODS

We retrospectively investigated stage III gastric cancer cases between 2008 and 2018 from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Variables were compared by chi2 test. Kaplan-Meier methods and COX proportional hazard models were used to ascertain independent prognostic factors. Survival differences among the subgroups were analyzed to assess the effects of NLN count on overall survival (OS) in stage III GC patients.

RESULTS

2373 patients with curative gastrectomy for stage III GC were identified. Univariate analysis demonstrated that NLNs count >14 was associated better 5-year OS (43.7% VS 23.1%, P< .001) comparing with the NLNs count ≤ 14. Subgroup analysis showed that the NLNs count could predict survival in both node-negative and node-positive patients. Multivariate analysis revealed NLNs count is an independent prognostic factor.

CONCLUSIONS

The NLNs count is an independent prognostic factor for survival in stage III gastric cancer patients after curative gastrectomy and should be recommended for clinical applications.

Pattern of Distribution of Lymph Node Metastases in Individual Stations in Middle and Lower Gastric Carcinoma

(1) Background: Lymph node (LN) dissection is the cornerstone of curative treatment of GC. The pattern of distribution of LN metastases is closely related to several factors. The aim of this study is to evaluate the factors determining the distribution of nodal metastases in a population of N+ distal GC patients undergoing gastrectomy and D2 lymphadenectomy. (2) Methods: The medical charts of 162 N+ GC patients who underwent surgical resection over a 15-year period were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical, pathological and anatomical characteristics were evaluated to identify the factors affecting the patterns and prevalence of metastases in individual LN stations. (3) Results: LN metastasis is correlated with the depth of the tumor and to diffuse-type tumors. A higher number of metastatic nodes was documented in patients with middle-third tumors (8.2 ± 7.3 vs. 4.5 ± 5.0 in lower-third tumors, p = 0.0001) and in patients with tumors located on the lesser curve. Station 4 showed the highest rate of metastases (53.1%). Concerning stations 7 to 12, station 8 showed the highest metastasis rate (28.4%). Metastases at stations 1, 2, 4 and 7 to 11 were dominant in middle-third cancer, whereas stations 5 and 6 were dominant in lower-third cancers. Station 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 metastases were dominant when the cancer was located on the greater curve, whereas stations 1, 2, 7, 8 and 12 were dominant in lesser-curve cancers. (4) Conclusions: The study documented that in patients with distal GC, the distribution of nodal metastases at individual stations is closely related to primary tumor location.

Analysis of risk factors for lymph node metastasis and prognosis study in patients with early gastric cancer: A SEER data-based study

Background

Lymph node status is an important factor in determining the prognosis of patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) and preoperative diagnosis of lymph node metastasis (LNM) has some limitations. This study explored the risk factors and independent prognostic factors of LNM in EGC patients and constructed a clinical prediction model to predict LNM.

Methods

Clinicopathological data of EGC patients was collected from the public Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for LNM in EGC patients. The performance of the LNM model was evaluated by C-index, calibration curve, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, decision curve analysis (DCA) curve, and clinical impact curve (CIC) based on the results of multivariate regression to develop a nomogram. An independent data set was obtained from China for external validation. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model were used to identify potential prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) in EGC patients.

Results

A total of 3993 EGC patients were randomly allocated to a training cohort (n=2797) and a validation cohort (n=1196). An external cohort of 106 patients from the Second Hospital of Lanzhou University was used for external validation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression showed that age, tumor size, differentiation, and examined lymph nodes count (ELNC) were independent risk factors for LNM. Nomogram for predicting LNM in EGC patients was developed and validated. The predictive model had a good discriminatory performance with a concordance index (C-index) of 0.702 (95% CI: 0.679-0.725). The calibration plots showed that the predicted LNM probabilities were the same as the actual observations in both the internal validation cohort and external validation cohort. The AUC values for the training cohort, internal validation cohort and external validation cohort were 0.702 (95% CI: 0.679-0.725), 0.709 (95% CI: 0.674-0.744) and 0.750(95% CI: 0.607-0.892), respectively, and the DCA curves and CIC showed good clinical applicability. The Cox regression model identified age, sex, race, primary site, size, pathological type, LNM, distant metastasis, and ELNC were prognostic factors for OS in EGC patients, while a year at diagnosis, grade, marital status, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were not independent prognostic factors.

Conclusion

In this study, we identified risk factors and independent prognostic factors for the development of LNM in EGC patients, and developed a relatively accurate model to predict the development of LNM in EGC patients.

Combination of the ratio between metastatic and harvested lymph nodes and negative lymph node count as a prognostic indicator in advanced gastric cancer: a retrospective cohort study

Background

The aim of our study was to examine the impact of the combination of the ratio between metastatic and harvested lymph nodes (RML) and negative lymph node (NLN) count on overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (GC).

Methods

The clinicopathological data of 2,952 advanced GC patients who received curative resection between 1994 and 2015 were collected. They were divided into four groups according to the RML: 0, 0-0.1, 0.1-0.4, and >0.4. We distinguished survival differences through Kaplan-Meier analysis among the subgroups to investigate the impacts of the RML on OS in advanced GC patients. OS was examined according to clinicopathological variables. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationships between the RML and metastatic lymph node (MLN) count and NLN count.

Results

A total of 1,182 patients were enrolled into the study. The median follow-up time was 39 months (interquartile range 20 to 68 months). The 5-year OS rate of all 1,182 GC patients was 54.4%. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the median OS declined significantly with increasing RML (5-year survival rate 81.2% vs. 69.1% vs. 42.8% vs. 13.1%, P<0.001). As the NLN count increased, the survival rate of GC patients increased (5-year survival rate 12.8% vs. 25.2% vs. 60.2%, P<0.05). The RML, not NLN count, was identified as an independent factor for OS (P<0.001) through multivariate analysis. Spearman correlation analysis suggested that the RML was positively correlated with the number of MLNs (ρ=0.973, P<0.001) and inversely associated with the NLN count (ρ=-0.513, P<0.001).

Conclusions

The RML is an independent prognostic predictor of OS in advanced GC patients, and the NLN count may serve as a supplementary strategy for the present tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification to further improve the prognostic prediction efficiency. The combination of the RML and NLN count should be an important predictor for current clinical applications.

The development and external validation of a nomogram predicting overall survival of gastric cancer patients with inadequate lymph nodes based on an international database

BACKGROUND

Inadequate sampling of lymph nodes could lead to stage migration and indicate a poor prognosis for gastric cancer after curative surgery. Some emerging novel predictors and the application of a nomogram could increase the accuracy of survival prediction.

METHODS

An international database regarding gastric cancer was employed as the primary cohort. The patients with inadequate (< 30) lymph nodes (LN) were analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression. Based on the selected model, a nomogram was plotted and calibrated against an external validation database.

RESULTS

A total of 1109 patients were included in the primary cohort, and there were 6584 patients in the validation cohort. There were significant differences regarding the clinical characteristics between the two cohorts. The model containing age, T stages, N stages, metastatic lymph nodes (mLN), and the number of total LN retrieved (TLN) showed superiority over the conventional TNM stages. Harrell's concordance index of the nomogram and TNM stages was 0.744 and 0.717, respectively. The external validation demonstrated a good concordance with the nomogram-predicted survival.

CONCLUSIONS

The nomogram including age, T stages, N stages, mLN, and TLN had a better accuracy than the conventional TNM staging system in predicting overall survival for gastric cancer patients with inadequate (< 30) LN.

A Novel Approach for Gastric Cancer Staging in Elderly Patients Based on the Lymph Node Ratio

Purpose

To date, no studies have been performed on staging based on the lymph node ratio (LNR) in elderly patients with gastric cancer who may require limited lymph node (LN) dissection due to morbidity and tissue fragility. We aimed to develop a new N staging system using the LNR in elderly patients with gastric cancer.

Materials and Methods

The present study included patients aged over 75 years who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 1989 and December 2018. Clinicopathological data including the number of retrieved and metastatic LNs were collected and the LNR values were obtained (LNR = the number of metastatic LNs/the number of retrieved LNs). Eleven LNR groups with intervals of 0.1 were divided into four stages based on the inflection points at which the hazard ratio (HR) increased. Survival analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic value of the LNR.

Results

The four LNR stages included LNR0 (n=364), LNR1 (n=128), LNR2 (n=103), and LNR3 (n=10). In the multivariate analysis, both N staging and LNR staging exhibited significant prognostic values for predicting survival outcomes. However, the incremental change in the hazard ratio (HR) between consecutive stages was greater for the LNR staging than for the N staging (HRs: 1.607, 2.758, and 3.675 for N staging; 1.583, 3.514, and 10.261 for LNR staging).

Conclusions

LNR staging is more useful than N staging in predicting the prognosis in elderly patients with gastric cancer and may be used as a complement or alternative to N staging.

Ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes is a novel prognostic indicator for patients with esophageal cancer: A Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database analysis

Background

The aim of this study was to explore whether the ratio between negative and positive lymph nodes (R_NP) could predict the overall survival (OS) of esophageal cancer (EC) patients with lymph node metastasis following esophagectomy.

Methods

We utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database to include the records of 2374 patients with lymph node metastases post‐surgery. All patients were randomly assigned into the training cohort (n = 1424) and validation cohort (n = 950). Multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify independent prognostic factors. A novel R_NP ‐based TR_NPM staging system was proposed. The prognostic value of N, R_NP, TNM and TR_NPM staging system was evaluated using the linear trend χ² test, likelihood ratio χ² test, and Akaike information criterion (AIC) to determine the potential superiorities. We constructed nomograms to predict survival in both cohorts, and the calibration curves confirmed the predictive ability.

Results

Univariate analyses showed that N and R_NP stage significantly influenced the OS of patients. Multivariate analyses revealed that R_NP was an independent prognostic predictor in both the training and validation cohorts. For the stratification analysis in the two cohorts, we found significant differences in the prognosis of patients in different R_NP groups on the basis of the different N stages and the number of dissected lymph nodes. In addition, the lower AIC value of R_NP stage and TR_NPM staging system represented superior predictive accuracy for OS than the N stage and TNM staging system, respectively. Furthermore, the calibration curves for the probability of three‐ and five‐year survival showed good consistency between nomogram predictive abilities and actual observation.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that compared to the classical pathological lymph nodal staging system, the R_NP stage showed superior predictive accuracy for OS and can serve as a more effective prognostic guidance for lymph node positive EC patients.

Accurate Risk Stratification of Patients with Node-Positive Gastric Cancer by Lymph Node Ratio

BACKGROUND

We aimed to clarify the utility of lymph node ratio (LNR) for assessing the prognosis of patients with node-positive gastric cancer after curative gastrectomy.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed data of 973 patients with node-positive gastric cancer who had undergone curative gastrectomy at nine institutions from 2010 to 2014. Survival analysis was performed by comparing LNR low and high groups according to the optimal cutoff value of LNR, which was determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.

RESULTS

LNR high was significantly associated with shorter disease-free survival and was an independent predictor of recurrence in all patients. Moreover, we obtained the similar results from analysis of each N stage. The prevalence of lymph node and peritoneal recurrence appeared to be higher in the LNR high group. Correlation analysis showed that LNR was negatively correlated with the number of retrieved nodes within every N stage; however, disease-free survival did not differ significantly between LNR low and high groups of each N stage with 16-30, 31-40, or >40 retrieved nodes.

CONCLUSIONS

LNR is a strong prognostic factor and predictor of recurrence in patients with node-positive gastric cancer who have undergone curative gastrectomy. The combination of LNR and N staging permits more accurate prognostic stratification of patients with gastric cancer and may contribute to developing novel prognostic models.

A novel lymph node staging system for gastric cancer including modified Union for cancer Control/American Joint Committee on cancer and Japanese Gastric Cancer Association criteria

BACKGROUND

The TNM system of the International Union for Cancer Control/American Joint Committee on Cancer (UICC/AJCC) and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association (JGCA) systems are the most used lymph node (LN) staging systems in gastric cancer. This study estimated the influence of anatomic location-based node stations on survival and proposed a new staging method based on both the number and anatomical distribution of metastatic LNs (mLNs).

METHODS

Stage I-III gastric cancer patients with radical gastrectomy were retrospectively evaluated. Overall survival (OS) was estimated in 1786 patients with UICC/AJCC stage N1-N3b disease and compared with estimates obtained using JGCA group 1-3 mLN staging.

RESULTS

The OS of UICC/AJCC stage N1-N3b patients with group 2 JGCA mLNs was significantly worse than that of patients with only group 1 mLNs. The OS of the patients with group 2 mLNs was similar to that of patients with group 1 mLNs but in the next more advanced UICC/AJCC-N stage. The OS of patients with group 3 mLNs was worse than that of patients with any UICC/AJCC-N stage and was similar to that of N3b patients with group 2 mLNs. A new pathological node (pN) staging classification was developed that advanced the N-staging of patients with group 2 mLNs. It was a better indicator of prognosis than the eighth UICC/AJCC-N and the thirteenth JGCA group staging systems.

CONCLUSIONS

A simple, accurate pN staging system including both the number and location of mLNs had improved homogeneity, discriminatory ability, and gradient monotonicity.

Oncologic and surgical outcomes for gastric cancer patients undergoing gastrectomy differ by race in the United States

INTRODUCTION

Gastric adenocarcinoma lymph node retrieval during gastrectomy and survival differ significantly between Asian and Western studies. It is unclear whether such disparities are the result of surgical technique, patient population, or other factors. In this observational study, we aimed to determine whether lymph node retrieval and outcomes differ between White, Black, and Asian American patients undergoing gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

47,217 cases of gastric resection for gastric adenocarcinoma and its subtypes were identified in the National Cancer Data Base (2000-2015). Differences in demographics, lymph node retrieval, operative outcomes, and survival were compared by self-reported race (White, Black, and Asian).

RESULTS

Asians had greater median lymph node retrieval (17) compared to White (15) and Black (16) patients, P < 0.001. Lymph node ratio was lowest in Asian (0.03) compared to White (0.05) and Black (0.09) patients, P < 0.001. Postoperative mortality was lowest in Asian patients on multivariable analysis (90-day mortality adjusted odds ratio of 0.54, P < 0.001). Median survival was not yet reached for Asian patients but was 39.5 months for White and 43.0 months for Black patients (P < 0.001). Differences in survival by race persisted on multivariable analysis (Asian adjusted hazard ratio was 0.64, 95% CI: 0.59-0.70, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Asian-American patients with gastric cancer undergoing gastrectomy have greater lymph node retrieval, decreased lymph node ratio, decreased postoperative mortality, and increased long-term survival compared to White or Black Americans. Data suggest factors other than surgical technique and oncologic care may be responsible for gastric adenocarcinoma outcome differences seen between Asian and Western studies.

Negative lymph node count as an independent prognostic factor in stage III patients after curative gastrectomy: A retrospective cohort study based on a multicenter database

OBJECTIVE

To examine the prognostic value of negative lymph node (NLN) count in stage III gastric cancer (GC) patients after curative gastrectomy.

METHODS

The clinicopathological data of 2942 stage III patients who underwent curative gastrectomy between 2001 and 2011 were analyzed. Only patients with ≥16 examined lymph nodes (ELNs) were included. After cut-point survival analysis, the 2942 patients were divided into three subgroups with NLN counts of 0, 1-9, and ≥10. Survival differences among the subgroups were analyzed to assess the effects of NLN count on stage migration and overall survival (OS) in stage III GC patients. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to assess the relationships between the ELN count and the positive lymph node (PLN) count, the ELN count and the NLN count, and the NLN count and the PLN count.

RESULTS

Survival analyses revealed that the NLN count was significantly associated with OS (P = 0.001) and was an independent predictor (P < 0.01) of prognosis in stage III GC patients. Subgroup analysis showed that the prognostic evaluation accuracy was highest when the NLN count was ≥10 for stage III patients. Stage migrations were mainly detected in the following pathological tumor-node (pTN) subgroups: pT2N3a with 1-9 NLNs and pT2N3b with ≥10 NLNs, and pT3N3a with 1-9 NLNs and pT3N3b with ≥10 NLNs. NLN count was positively correlated with the ELN and the PLN counts for pT2N3 and pT3N3 stage GC patients (r = 0.694 and r = 0.881 for pT2N3 patients; r = 0.685 and r = 0.902 for pT3N3 patients, respectively; P < 0.001). These findings indicate that the NLN count may be a useful prognostic predictor in stage III GC patients.

CONCLUSIONS

The NLN count may improve the prognostic prediction efficiency of the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification for GC, especially for stage III patients, and should be recommended for clinical applications.

Retrieved lymph nodes from different anatomic groups in gastric cancer: a proposed optimal number, comparison with other nodal classification strategies and its impact on prognosis

Background

The optimal number of retrieved lymph nodes (LNs) in gastric cancer (GC) is still debatable and previous studies proposing new classification alternatives mostly focused on the number of retrieved LNs without proper consideration on the anatomic nodal groups’ location. Here, we assessed the impact of retrieved LNs from different nodal location groups on the survival of GC patients.

Methods

Stage I–III gastric cancer patients who had radical gastrectomy were investigated. LN grouping was determined according to the 13th edition of the JCGC. The optimal cut-off values of retrieved LNs in different LN groups (Group 1 and 2) were calculated, based on which a proposed nodal classification (rN) simultaneously accounting the optimal number and location of retrieved LNs was proposed. The performance of rN was then compared to that of LN ratio, log-odds of metastatic LNs (LODDs) and the 8th edition of the Union for International Cancer Control/American Joint Committee on Cancer (UICC/AJCC) N classification.

Results

The optimal cut-off values for Group 1 and 2 were 13 and 9, respectively. The 5-year overall survival (OS) was higher for patients in retrieved Group 1 LNs > 13 (vs. Group 1 LNs ≤ 13, 63.2% vs. 57.9%, P = 0.005) and retrieved Group 2 LNs > 9 (vs. Group 2 LNs ≤ 9, 72.5% vs. 60.7%, P = 0.009). Patients staged as pN0–3b were sub classified using this Group 1 and 2 nodal analogy. The OS of pN0–N2 patients in retrieved Group 1 LNs > 13 or Group 2 LNs > 9 were superior to those in retrieved Group 1 LNs ≤ 13 and Group 2 LNs ≤ 9 (All P < 0.05); except for pN3 patients. The rN classification was formulated and demonstrated better 5-year OS prognostication performance as compared to the LNR, LODDs, and the 8th UICC/AJCC N staging system.

Conclusions

The retrieval of > 13 and > 9 LNs for Group 1 and Group 2, respectively, could represent an alternative lymph node retrieval approach in radical gastrectomy for more precise survival prognostication and minimizing staging migration, especially if > 16 LNs is found to be difficult.

Validation of the 8th Edition of the AJCC TNM Staging System for Gastric Cancer using the National Cancer Database

BACKGROUND

The 8th edition AJCC gastric cancer staging manual was refined using Japanese and Korean data from the International Gastric Cancer Association (IGCA). This study evaluated the eighth edition's validity for U.S.

POPULATIONS

METHODS

National Cancer Database (NCDB) was used to obtain data on gastric cancer patients diagnosed from 2004 to 2008 who underwent surgery and to examine differences in stage grouping and survival between AJCC 7th and 8th editions. Discrimination of models derived from NCDB and IGCA data was compared.

RESULTS

Of 12,041 patients, median age was 65, 57.6% were male, median lymph nodes retrieved was 2 (0-76), 30.9% underwent distal/partial gastrectomy, and 49.8% received no adjuvant treatment. The 8th edition differed in that T1-T3 disease was upstaged with N3b, T4aN3a was downstaged from IIIC to IIIB, and T4bN0 and T4aN2 were downstaged from IIIB to IIIA. These changes resulted in increased patients in IIIA (1436 in the 7th edition to 2310 in the 8th) and IIIB (1737-1896) and decreased in IIIC (2100-1067). This also resulted in lower median survival for IIIA (28.7-25.0 months), IIIB (19.6-17.4), IIIC (13.7-11.8). The concordance index for the 8th edition applied to NCDB data was 0.719 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.703-0.734), which is comparable to that for the 8th edition developed from IGCA data (0.775, 95% CI 0.770-0.780) and the 7th edition applied to NCDB data (0.720, 95% CI 0.704-0.735).

CONCLUSIONS

The 8th edition is valid for U.S. populations, showing clear separation of data with preservation of group order.