Attention should be paid to the lymph node dissection after neoadjuvant therapy: interpretation of Chinese expert consensus on mediastinal lymph node dissection in esophagectomy for esophageal cancer (2017 edition)

At present, no consensus has been reached on the methods of dissection of lymph nodes in radical resection of esophageal carcinoma, especially the number and range of lymph node dissection after neoadjuvant therapy, and the sensitivity of the number of lymph node dissection to the pathological N stage after neoadjuvant therapy is low. Therefore, the significance of lymph node dissection needs to be further confirmed. The dissection of the chest lymph nodes is necessary, regardless of the method of lymph node dissection. According to the American Joint Commission for Cancer (AJCC)/Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the Japan Esophagus Society (JES) standards, Chinese expert consensus on mediastinal lymph node dissection in esophagectomy for esophageal cancer (2017 edition) puts forward the Chinese standard of the thoracic lymph node grouping of esophageal carcinoma in order to meet the practical needs of Chinese patients. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms; Thoracic surgical procedures; Lymph node excision; Neoadjuvant therapy