Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of D3 lymph node (TSLN) for the survival of patients with colorectal cancer.
Methods: A total of 156 patients with R0 resected colorectal cancer were selected from 2011 to 2015 to carry out a retrospective study. The survival rate according to the groups of positive lymph node number (N: 1-3, N2: 4-6, N3: ≥7) and TSLN (TSLN [-], TSLN [+]) was analyzed. The influences of covariates on the 5-year overall survival (OS) and 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) were determined by the Cox proportional risk model of backward stepwise analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to draw survival curves between and within groups.
Results: During the median follow-up period (44.0 months), the 5-year DFS rate and OS rate were 45.0% and 46.0%, respectively. Survival analysis of the TSLN group showed that the 5-year OS rate and 5-year DFS rate in the TSLN (+) group (20.0 and 16.2%, respectively) were significantly lower than those in the TSLN (-) group (68.3 and 51.6%, respectively) (P < 0.001). The 5-year OS rate and DFS rate of the TSLN (+) and TSLN (-) subgroups in the N1 group were 16.7%, 33.3%, 56.7%, and 55.7%, respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that positive lymph node, TSLN, and Pathological T stage were independent prognostic factors of DFS and OS for 5 years. Patients in the TSLN (+) group had a poorer prognosis.
Conclusions: TSLN metastasis is an independent factor influencing the prognosis of patients, and patients with TSLN (+) have a poor prognosis. As an independent prognostic factor, this factor should be considered when evaluating the prognosis of patients.
Keywords: Colorectal cancer; D3 lymph node; Number of positive lymph nodes; Prognosis.
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