ArticlePeerJ2026
Association of recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node retrieval with survival in early-stage resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study.
Article in PeerJ, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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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.
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5 authors.
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Abstract
Purpose: The clinical relevance of recurrent laryngeal nerve lymph node (RLN LN) management in early-stage resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains controversial. We evaluated the association of RLN LN retrieval with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with pT1bN0/pT2N0 thoracic ESCC and examined whether total lymph node (LN) yield was associated with outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 212 patients with pT1bN0 or pT2N0 ESCC who underwent esophagectomy between January 2015 and September 2018. Patients were categorized by RLN LN retrieval status (no RLN LN retrieved Results: RLN LN retrieval (≥1) was associated with improved OS and DFS Conclusions: In patients with pT1bN0/pT2N0 thoracic ESCC, retrieval of at least one RLN LN was associated with improved OS and DFS, whereas higher total LN yield was not clearly associated with survival. Because RLN-chain nodal retrieval was closely related to surgical approach and lymphadenectomy field, these findings should be interpreted as observational associations rather than proof of an independent causal benefit of RLN LN dissection itself. Larger, ideally multicenter studies are needed to clarify the respective contributions of RLN-chain nodal management, staging adequacy, and operative approach to long-term outcomes.
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