Is neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy sufficient in patients with advanced rectal malignancy and positive extra-mesorectal lateral lymph nodes?
Nima AhmadiK G M BrownP LeeM QuinnK K S AustinMichael J SolomonPublished in: Colorectal disease : the official journal of the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (2020)
Our study suggests that in patients with radiologically positive LPLNs chemoradiotherapy may not be enough to sterilize these extra-mesorectal lymph nodes as a large proportion (27%) will have residual viable adenocarcinoma cells. In patients with radiologically negative LPLNs, however, the addition of chemoradiotherapy may serve to adequately sterilize these lymph nodes without the need for prophylactic LPLN dissection.