Impact of lymph node retrieval and pathological ultra‐staging on the prognosis of stage II colon cancer

Abstract

Inadequate retrieval and assessment of lymph nodes is associated with worse outcome in stage II colon cancer patients. Recurrence patterns support the hypothesis that disease recurrence occurred due to inaccurate staging. In this small study, LVI or nodal micrometastases did not predict survival. Maximal attention should be paid to the total number of lymph nodes retrieved before embarking on potentially more resource intensive staging methods.