Detection of micrometastasis in lymph nodes and its clinical significance in patients with pN0 gastric cancer

Objective To evaluate the relationship between lymph node micrometastasis and clinicopathological parameters and the clinilcal significance of lymph node micrometastasis in gastric cancer.Methods Immunohistochemical method was adopted to detect,with the antibodies of cytokeratin 19(CK19) and carcinoembryonic antigen 72-4(CA72-4),in 442 lymph nodes from 40 cases of gastric cancer,in which conventional pathological diagnosis showed no lymph node metastasis.Results Lymph node micrometastasis was found in 9 of 40 patients(22.5%).The incidence of micrometastasis was correlated with the depth of invasion,and the incidence of micrometastasis in pT3 patients was more than in pT1 and pT2 patients(P0.05).The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower for patients with lymph node micrometastasis(44.4%) than for those without lymph node micrometastasis(93.5%).Conclusion Lymph node micrometastasis detection in conventional pathologically node-negative gastric cancer is recommended to precisely determine the tumor stage,in order to direct cancer therapy and predict prognosis.