Lymph node evaluation in stage IIA colorectal cancer and its impact on patient prognosis: a population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The analysis of regional lymph nodes is particularly relevant in patients with stage II colorectal cancer, in whom the role of adjuvant chemotherapy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between number of examined lymph nodes and survival in patients with stage IIA (pT3N0M0) colorectal cancer, and to determine the optimal number of lymph nodes that should be examined. METHODS: The study group included all the surgically-treated colorectal cancer patients in stage IIA (n = 657) who were identified through the population-based Cancer Registry of the Province of Modena (Northern Italy), during the period 2002-2006. RESULTS: The median number of harvested lymph nodes was 19 (range 1-68). Considering, as a reference point, patients with 12 or less lymph nodes, subjects with n ≥ 20 lymph nodes examined showed, in univariate analysis, a significantly higher cancer specific (p = 0.01) and relapse-free survival (p = 0.003). The results were confirmed by multivariate analysis (Cox model). CONCLUSION: The result suggests that colorectal cancer patients in stage IIA with n ≥ 20 lymph nodes examined exhibit better survival when compared with subjects in whom fewer lymph nodes were examined. The number of 20 lymph nodes is the essential requirement for an oncologic resection of the large bowel.

Use of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma in daily practice: a population-based study from Northern Italy.

We conducted a population-based study to assess how positron emission tomography (PET) is currently used in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Four cancer registries from northern Italy were used to identify patients with HL diagnosed from 2006 to 2008. Computed tomography (CT) and PET scans were collected before treatment start (B), at the end (F), and during treatment (I). One hundred and thirty-six patients were identified as the study population. B-PET, I-PET, and F-PET were performed in 82%, 65%, and 85% of patients, respectively. Overall, I-PET was coded as positive in 16% of cases. F-PET was positive in 13% of cases. The I-PET result was a prognostic factor for failure-free survival (FFS) (hazard ratio [HR] 5.33); the F-PET result was the only prognostic factor for overall survival (OS) (HR 14.2). This population-based study confirms the prognostic role of I-PET for FFS also in daily practice; the results of F-PET can be used to predict OS.