Skip Navigation

Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology 2007 37(4):314-318; doi:10.1093/jjco/hym024
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Komatsu, S.
Right arrow Articles by Yamagishi, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Komatsu, S.
Right arrow Articles by Yamagishi, H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© 2007 Foundation for Promotion of Cancer Research

Prognostic and Clinical Evaluation of Axillary Lymph Node Metastasis in Esophageal Cancer

Shuhei Komatsu1, Yuji Ueda1,, Daisuke Ichikawa1, Hitoshi Fujiwara1, Kazuma Okamoto1, Shojiro Kikuchi1, Atsushi Shiozaki1, Kenichiro Imura1, Rumi Ohsawa1, Toshiya Ochiai1, Takuji Tsubokura2 and Hisakazu Yamagishi1

1 Division of Digestive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto
2 Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

For reprints and all correspondence: Yuji Ueda, Division of Digestive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, 465 Kajii-cho, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan. E-mail: yueda{at}koto.kpu-m.ac.jp

Received October 1, 2006; accepted December 6, 2006

Axillary lymph node metastasis (ALNM) from esophageal cancer is rare. Its prognosis and effective treatments remain unknown. Between 1997 and 2005, esophagectomy was performed in 361 patients with esophageal cancer in our hospital. ALNM was identified in four patients (1.1%). All patients had left ALNM with ipsilateral left supraclavicular lymph node metastasis. In two patients ALNM developed after radical esophagectomy with regional lymphadenectomy and in the other two patients after chemoradiotherapy of primary lesions. Axillary lymphadenectomy with chemoradiotherapy was given to all patients. Median survival time and disease-free survival (DFS) after initial treatment for primary esophageal cancer were 30.5 months and 11.5 months, respectively. One patient, who had a small number of regional lymph node metastases (two lymph nodes) at esophagectomy and prolonged DFS (22 months) until axillary node recurrence, is still alive, 67 months after axillary lymphadenectomy. The other three patients, who had larger numbers of regional lymph node metastases (average, 8.3) and shorter DFS (average, 9.7 months), died of recurrence an average of 13.3 months after axillary lymphadenectomy. In conclusion, although ALNM is considered a type of distant organ metastasis, if it is a solitary recurrence, good survival may be obtained after appropriate loco-regional therapy. The number of metastatic regional lymph nodes at initial esophagectomy and the duration of DFS until axillary node recurrence can help to guide the decision whether aggressive treatments are warranted.

Key Words: esophageal cancer • lymph node metastasis • axillary lymph node • salvage surgery • prognosis


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.