Aim: To compare anatomical with numerical criterion to measure the quality of lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer.
Patients and methods: We analyzed 447 gastric cancer patients with resectable tumor stage (R0 resection) with at least 16 examined lymph nodes.
Results: Of 447 patients, 82.6% underwent D2 lymphadenectomy for a median of total examined lymph nodes of 28. The 7-year disease-specific survival rate for the whole sample was 71.4%. Survival was significantly different between patients treated with D2 and D1 lymphadenectomy (77.4% versus 44.3%; p < 0.001) and between patients with total examined lymph nodes ≥ 28 and < 28 (74.5% versus 62.3%; p = 0.041). Anatomical criterion significantly differentiated 7-year survival in patients stratified according to a numerical parameter.
Conclusion: We should still consider the anatomical criterion as the best item to measure the quality of lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer.
Keywords: Cancer-related survival; Locally advanced gastric cancer; Lymphadenectomy; Number of removed lymph nodes.