Fifteen is just a number

Abstract

Lymph node dissection remains an essential part of any oncologic surgery. At a minimum, sentinel node sampling is required for some cancers. For many solid malignancies, including lung and esophageal cancer, the number of lymph nodes resected correlates with long-term outcomes. The debate remains regarding the relative contributions of the oncologic impact of a thorough lymph node sampling vs stage migration leading to the improved outcomes. An alternative explanation, still, is that a thorough lymph node sampling may just be a surrogate marker of comprehensive quality care, without having any direct impact on cancer-related outcomes.