Lymph node micrometastases in patients with early gastric cancer: Experience with 139 patients

Background: Although lymph node metastases in patients with early gastric cancer (EGC) is an important prognostic factor, the prognostic relevance of lymph node micrometastases is still uncertain. Methods: The authors studied 1488 lymph nodes, which were histologically confirmed as pN0, dissected from 139 patients who were treated for EGC between 1976-1994. Micrometastases were defined as a single or small cluster of neoplastic cells identifiable only by immunohistochemical methods. Results: Lymph node micrometastases was observed in 24 of the 139 patients (17%). No significant correlation was observed between micrometastases and other clinicopathological characteristics. Analysis of overall survival showed no significant difference between the micrometastases positive and negative groups. Conclusion: The results of our study show that the presence of lymph node micrometastases in EGC does not have an influence on patient prognosis.