Absence of Lymph Nodes in the Resected Specimen After Radical Surgery for Distal Rectal Cancer and Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy: What does it Mean?

Abstract

Absence of lymph nodes retrieved from the resected specimen is associated with favorable pathologic features (ypT and perineural invasion status) and good disease-free survival rates. In this setting, absence of retrieved lymph nodes may reflect improved response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy rather than inappropriate or suboptimal oncologic radicality.