Background: Optimal treatment of localized colorectal cancer (CRC) depends on accurate retrieval and assessment of lymph nodes (LN) in the resected specimen.
Methods: Formal CE, informal opinion leadership and reinforcing strategies aimed at pathologists and surgeons to improve LN assessment were implemented.
Results: In the pre-intervention period a median of 8 lymph nodes were assessed in making a designation of Stage II CRC (n = 115). Thirty months later (post-intervention period) the median number of LN reported in Stage II CRC increased to 18 (n = 41), p < 0.001.
Conclusion: A durable improvement in staging was realized through a multipronged change initiative aimed at both surgeons and pathologists.