Objective: To validate the necessity of increasing the examined lymph node(ELN) count for enhancing the accuracy of prognostic evaluation of gastric cancer(GC) patients after curative gastrectomy in multiple medical centers of China.Methods: The clinicopathological data of 7,620 patients who underwent the curative resection for GC between2001 and 2011 were included to demonstrate whether the ELN count is indispensable for enhancing the accuracy of prognostic evaluation of GC patients after surgery. After a meticulous stratification by using the cut-point survival analysis, all included 7,620 patients were allocated into three groups as: less than 16(<16), between 16 and30(16-30), and more than 30(>30) ELNs. Survival differences among various subgroups of GC patients were analyzed to assess the impact of the ELN count on the stage migration in accordance with the overall survival(OS)of GC patients.Results: Survival analyses revealed that the ELN count was positively correlated with the OS(P=0.001) and was an independent prognostic predictor(P<0.01) of 7,620 GC patients. Stratum analysis showed that the accuracy of prognostic evaluation could be enhanced when the ELN count was no less than 16(≥16) for node-negative patients and >30 for node-positive patients. Stage migrations were mainly detected in the various subgroups of patients with specific pN stages as follows: pN0 with 16-30 ELNs(pN0_(16-30)) and pN0 with >30 ELNs(pN0_(>30)), pN0 with <16 ELNs(pN0_(<16)) and pN1_(>30), pN1_(<16) and pN2_(16-30), pN1_(16-30) and pN2_(>30), pN3a_(<16) and pN3b_(16-30), and pN3a_(<16) and pN3b_(>30). These findings indicate that increasing the ELN count is a prerequisite to guarantee precisely prognostic evaluation of GC patients.Conclusions: The ELN count should be proposed to be >30 for acquiring the accurate prognostic evaluation for GC patients, especially for node-positive patients.
A 64-year-old man was admitted to the Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center with chief complaints of recurrent abdominal pain and diarrhea for about 3 years and with a history of surgical repair for intestinal perforation owing to stress ulcer. Positron emission tomography(PET)/computed tomography(CT) demonstrated a primary tumor on the pancreatic tail with multifocal liver metastases. Pathological and immunohistochemistry staining revealed the lesion to be a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor(pNET). According to the latest World Health Organization(WHO, 2013) classification, the tumor was classified as stage IV functional G1 pNET. After referral to the multidisciplinary treatment board(MDT), the patient was started on periodic dose of omeprazole, somatostatin analogues and Interferon α(IFNα) and had scanning follow-ups. Based upon the imaging results, CT-guided radioactive iodine-125(125I) seeds implantation therapy, radiofrequency ablation therapy(RFA) or microwave ablation technique were chosen for the treatment of the primary tumor. Transarterial chemoembolization(TACE), RFA and microwave ablation techniques were decided upon for liver metastases. The patient showed beneficial response to the treatment with clinically manageable low-grade side effects and attained partial remission(RECIST criteria) with a good quality of life.
