Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22895615›Full record

SynthesisGastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association2012

How many lymph nodes should be assessed in patients with gastric cancer? A systematic review.

Rajini Seevaratnam, Alina Bocicariu, Roberta Cardoso, Lavanya Yohanathan, Matthew Dixon, Calvin Law, Lucy Helyer, Natalie G Coburn

Abstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
55citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

55 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Evaluation of the seventh AJCC TNM staging system for gastric cancer: a meta-analysis of cohort studies.Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine · 2014
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Carnoy's solution increases the number of examined lymph nodes following gastrectomy for adenocarcinoma: a randomized trial.Gastric cancer : official journal of the International Gastric Cancer Association and the Japanese Gastric Cancer Association · 2016
    Trial
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Post-neoadjuvant therapy lymph node response in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.Arquivos brasileiros de cirurgia digestiva : ABCD = Brazilian archives of digestive surgery · 2026
    Observational
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Rajini SeevaratnamSunnybrook Research Institute, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Canada.
Alina Bocicariu
Roberta Cardoso
Lavanya Yohanathan
Matthew Dixon
Calvin Law
Lucy Helyer
Natalie G Coburn

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNodal status is one of the most important prognostic factors in gastric adenocarcinoma (GC). As such, it is important to assess an appropriate number of lymph nodes (LNs) in order to accurately stage patients. However, the number of LNs assessed in each GC case varies, and in many cases the number examined per gastric specimen is less than current recommendations. PURPOSE: We aimed to identify and synthesize findings from all articles evaluating the association of clinicopathological features and long-term outcomes with the number of LNs assessed among GC patients.

methodsSystematic electronic literature searches were conducted using Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials from 1998 to 2009.

resultsTwenty-five articles were included in this review. Extensive resection, increased tumor size, and greater TNM staging were all associated with a greater number of LNs assessed. The disease-free survival was longer and recurrence rate was lower in patients with more LNs assessed. Overall survival, as well as survival by TNM and clinical stage, was improved among patients with an increased number of LNs assessed, but much of this appears to be due to stage migration, with the effect more pronounced in more advanced disease.

conclusionMore LNs assessed resulted in less stage migration and possibly better long-term outcomes. Although current guidelines suggest 16 LNs to be assessed, especially in advanced GC, a higher number of LNs should be assessed.

Indexed as

AdenocarcinomaDisease-Free SurvivalHumansLymphatic MetastasisLymph Node ExcisionNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalNeoplasm StagingOutcome Assessment, Health CarePractice Guidelines as TopicPrognosisStomach NeoplasmsSurvival Rate

Identifiers

PMID22895615

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.