Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39192780›Full record

SynthesisHistopathology2025

Tumour deposits are associated with worse survival than extranodal extension; a network meta-analysis on tumour nodules in colorectal cancer.

Nelleke P M Brouwer, Shannon van Vliet, Joanna IntHout, Johannes H W De Wilt, Femke Simmer, Niek Hugen, Iris D Nagtegaal

Abstract readNetwork Meta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Histopathology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–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

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
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

7 authors.

Nelleke P M BrouwerDepartment of Pathology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2268-9668
Shannon van VlietDepartment of Pathology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Joanna IntHoutDepartment for Health Evidence, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Johannes H W De WiltDepartment of Surgery, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Femke SimmerDepartment of Pathology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3020-1896
Niek HugenDepartment of Surgery, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2157-1561
Iris D NagtegaalDepartment of Pathology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0887-4127

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Lymph node metastases (LNM) play a central role in the tumour-node-metastasis (TNM) classification for colorectal cancer (CRC), with extranodal extension (ENE) as an adverse feature. ENE has never been directly compared to tumour deposits (TD). The aim of this study was to perform an up-to-date systematic review, including a network meta-analysis to compare their prognostic value. A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane databases to identify all prognostic studies on ENE and TD. A total of 20 studies were included, with 7719 cases. The primary outcome was 5-year disease-free survival (DFS); secondary outcomes were overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS). Frequentist paired and network meta-analyses were performed using the netmeta package in R. For univariable DFS analysis, LNM + TD+ cases had a significantly worse outcome compared with LNM + ENE+ cases [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.06-1.53], which was no longer significant for multivariable DFS analysis (HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.87-1.46). All OS and multivariable DSS analyses showed a significantly worse outcome for LNM + TD+ cases compared with LNM + ENE cases. For all outcomes, both LNM + TD+ and LNM + ENE+ had a significantly increased hazard compared with LNM+ cases. This study shows that there is a trend towards worse outcome for LNM + TD+ than LNM + ENE+, not statistically significant in multivariable DFS analysis. Both groups perform significantly worse than cases with LNM only. To improve the accuracy of CRC staging, we recommend to put more emphasis on both ENE and TD in the TNM classification, with the most prominent role for TD.

Indexed as

Colorectal NeoplasmsExtranodal ExtensionDisease-Free SurvivalHumansLymphatic MetastasisPrognosiscolorectal cancerextranodal extensionlymph node metastasesnetwork meta‐analysisprognostic valuestagingtumour deposits

Identifiers

PMID39192780
PMCPMC11791726

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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.