Clinical Significance of Lymph Node Micrometastasis in Stage I and II Colon Cancer

Abstract

Inadequate lymph node retrieval and lymphatic invasion were found to be associated with a poorer outcome for node-negative colon cancer patients. The presence of immunostained tumors cells in pN0 lymph nodes was found to have no significant effect on survival, but these tumor were identified by re-do H-E staining. Maximal attention should be paid to the total number of lymph nodes that are retrieved during surgery for colon cancer patients.