ReviewCancer management and research2018
Anatomy of lymphatic drainage of the esophagus and lymph node metastasis of thoracic esophageal cancer.
Review in Cancer management and research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 109 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cervical lymph node metastases in thoracic esophageal cancer: a systematic review.Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus · 2026Pooled it
- Risk factors for lymph node metastasis in T1 esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.World journal of gastroenterology · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Prognostic significance of nodal skip metastasis in node-positive thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after esophagectomy.Journal of thoracic disease · 2026Article
- Patterns of Lymph Node Metastases After Multimodality Therapy in Esophageal Carcinoma Treated with Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy (RAMIE).Annals of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Sigmoid colon metastasis from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma presenting as a colon polyp.The Korean journal of internal medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Lymph Node Metastasis Pattern and Influencing Factors in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Aging medicine (Milton (N.S.W)) · 2026Article
- Treatment strategies of esophageal cancer with concurrent cervical node metastasis: a Dutch nationwide population-based cohort study.Diseases of the esophagus : official journal of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus · 2026Article
- Mediastinal lymphadenectomy strategy for Siewert II adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction: a retrospective cohort study.World journal of surgical oncology · 2026Article
- Article
- A rare case report on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma metastatic to the colon.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Deep learning-based automatic segmentation and CT elastography radiomics for preoperative prediction of right recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Esophageal intramural metastasis from adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction: a case report and literature review.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Prognostic value of left gastric artery lymph node metastasis in patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.Journal of thoracic disease · 2025Article
- IFIT3 promotes lymph node metastasis by interacting with LASP1 to activate FAK-ERK signaling in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Cell death & disease · 2025Article
- The prognostic significance of subcarinal lymph node dissection in esophagectomy for middle and lower thoracic squamous cell carcinoma.Interdisciplinary cardiovascular and thoracic surgery · 2025Article
- The oesophagus as an immune organ.Nature reviews. Gastroenterology & hepatology · 2025Review
- Radical surgery versus definitive radiotherapy in treatment of locoregional upper esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.BMC cancer · 2025Article
- Challenges in the diagnosis of esophageal cancer with intramural gastric metastasis: Two case reports.World journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2025Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The lymphatic drainage of the inner layers (mucosa and submucosa) and the outer layers (muscularispropria and adventitia) of the thoracic esophagus is different. Longitudinal lymphatic vessels and long drainage territory in the submucosa and lamina propria should be the bases for bidirectional drainage and direct drainage to thoracic duct and extramural lymph nodes (LN). The submucosal vessels for direct extramural drainage are usually thick while lymphatic communication between the submucosa and intermuscular area is usually not clearly found, which does not facilitate transversal drainage to paraesophageal LN from submucosa. The right paratracheal lymphatic chain (PLC) is well developed while the left PLC is poorly developed. Direct drainage to the right recurrent laryngeal nerve LN and subcarinal LN from submucosa has been verified. Clinical data show that lymph node metastasis (LNM) is frequently present in the lower neck, upper mediastinum, and perigastric area, even for early-stage thoracic esophageal cancer (EC). The lymph node metastasis rate (LNMR) varies mainly according to the tumor location and depth of tumor invasion. However, there are some crucial LN for extramural relay which have a high LNMR, such as cervical paraesophageal LN, recurrent laryngeal nerve LN, subcarinal LN, LN along the left gastric artery, lesser curvature LN, and paracardial LN. Metastasis of thoracic paraesophageal LN seems to be a sign of more advanced EC. This review gives us a better understanding about the LNM and provides more information for treatments of thoracic EC.
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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.