Lymphnode Metastasis of the Esophageal Cancer -Comparative Study on the Diagnosis between Gross Findings and Histopathology-

Yoshihisa Morisaki, Shingo Shima, Hajime Yonekawa, Masayuki Goto, Yoshiaki Sugiura, Yutaka Yoshizumi, Susumu Tanaka, Shinsuke Aida*, Seiichi Tamai*

Second Department of Surgery, *Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Defence Medical College

The difference between macroscopic and microscopic diagnoses of the lymph nodes of 46 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was assessed. The results obtained can be summarized as follows: (1) The accuracy of macroscopic diagnosis of lymph node metastasis of well, moderately, and poorly-differentiated sequmous cell carcinoma were 95.3%, 91.5% and 83.2%. That of poorly differentiated one was significantly lower than those of well or moderately one. (2) The specificity of macroscopic diagnosis was lower in lymph nodes in which the metastatic mode was micrometasis and in nodes whose diameter was less than 5 mm. The incidence of such lymph nodes was higher in cases of poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. (3) Microscopically, all false positive lymph nodes were diagnosed as reactive lymphadenitis. The majority of of these lymph nodes were larger than 10 mm in diameter.

Key words
lymph node metastasis of esophageal cancer, macroscopic diagnosis of the lymphnode, microscopic diagnosis of the lymphnode

Reprint requests
Yoshihisa Morisaki Second Department of Surgery, National Defense Medical College
3-2 Namiki, Tokorozawa, 359 JAPAN

Accepted
December 10, 1991

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