Standardization of pelvic lymphadenectomy performed at radical cystectomy: Can we establish a minimum number of lymph nodes that should be removed? Journal Article

  

Authors:	Koppie, T. M.; Vickers, A. J.; Vora, K.; Dalbagni, G.; Bochner, B. H.
Article Title:	Standardization of pelvic lymphadenectomy performed at radical cystectomy: Can we establish a minimum number of lymph nodes that should be removed?
Abstract:	BACKGROUND. The number of lymph nodes (LNs) removed during radical cystectomy (RQ for transitional cell carcinoma (TCQ of the bladder affects overall and disease-specific survival, but no consensus exists regarding the minimum number of LNs that should be removed. The goal of the current study was to determine if a threshold number of nodes exists, above which taking additional LNs has no clinical benefit. METHODS. A total of 1121 patients were identified who underwent RC for clinically localized TCC of the bladder between January 1990 and April 2004. To determine the relation of LNs removal and overall survival, a Cox proportional hazards model was used with pathologic stage, age, and comorbidity as covariates. A dose-response curve, adjusted for covariates, was modeled to assess the impact of an increasing number of LNs removed on overall survival. RESULTS. A median of 9 LNs were removed (range, 0-53 LNs). In multivariable analysis, all covariates (number of LNs removed, age, stage of disease, and comorbidity) were found to be predictive of survival. The dose-response curve for number of LNs versus survival revealed that, when adjusted for covariates, the probability of survival did not plateau but instead continued to rise as the number of LNs removed increased. CONCLUSIONS. No evidence was found that a minimum number of LNs is sufficient for optimizing bladder cancer outcomes when a limited or extended pelvic LN dissection is performed during RC. Instead, the probability of survival continues to rise as the number of LNs removed increases. This study supports a more extended LN dissection at the time of RC, and highlights the challenges of interpreting retrospective LN dissection data. © 2006 American Cancer Society.
Keywords:	adult; cancer survival; aged; middle aged; survival analysis; retrospective studies; major clinical study; overall survival; lymph node metastasis; lymph node dissection; lymph nodes; pelvis; lymph node excision; pelvis lymphadenectomy; urinary bladder neoplasms; standardization; radical cystectomy; cystectomy; multivariate analysis; carcinoma, transitional cell; bladder carcinoma; transitional cell carcinoma; bladder neoplasm
Journal Title:	Cancer
Volume:	107
Issue:	10
ISSN:	0008-543X
Publisher:	Wiley Blackwell
Date Published:	2006-11-15
Start Page:	2368
End Page:	2374
Language:	English
DOI:	10.1002/cncr.22250
PUBMED:	17041887
PROVIDER:	scopus
DOI/URL:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-33751004132&partnerID=40&md5=185eaa13c65c6ee2043d6a6d20e7b9d8
Notes:	--- - "Cited By (since 1996): 79" - "Export Date: 4 June 2012" - "CODEN: CANCA" - "Source: Scopus"

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