In patients with ypT0 in rectal cancer after neoadjuvant treatment, remaining regional lymph node metastases cannot safely be predicted by restaging MRI alone using presently known criteria. Presence of a lymph node over 8 mm on restaging MRI strongly indicates yPN+. Advances in knowledge: This is one of the first studies on MRI lymph node assessment after chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) in luminal complete response.
Aim: To explore whether the size and characteristics of the largest regional lymph node in patients with rectal cancer, based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), following neoadjuvant therapy and before surgery, is able to identify patients at high risk of developing metachronous metastases. Patients and Methods: A retrospective case-control study with data from the Swedish Colo-Rectal Cancer Registry. Forty patients were identified with metachronous metastases (M+), and 40 patients without metastases (M0) were matched as controls. Results: Patients with M+ disease were more likely to have a regional lymph node measuring ≥5 mm than patients with M0. (87% vs. 65%, p=0.02). There was also a significant difference between the groups regarding the presence of an irregular border of the largest lymph node (68% vs. 40%, p=0.01). Conclusion: Lymph nodes measuring ≥5 mm with/without displaying irregular borders at MRI performed after neoadjuvant therapy emerged as risk factors for metachronous metastases in patients with rectal cancer. Intensified follow-up programmes may be indicated in these patients. Rectal cancer is a global health problem, each year affecting 700,000 new individuals worldwide (1). In Sweden, a total of 2,000 patients are diagnosed with rectal cancer annually; morbidity and mortality remain high, with a 5-year relative survival of 66% (2). Approximately 20-30% of all patients with rectal cancer will, at some point, be diagnosed with metastases (3-5) in the liver, lungs or elsewhere. Fifty percent of these are diagnosed as synchronous metastases, i.e. simultaneous with the diagnosis of the primary rectal tumour (6). In the other half, metastases are metachronous; the metastases develop later, i.e. during follow-up of the primary treatment. Despite improved therapeutic options with combination chemotherapy, stereotactic radiotherapy, surgical resections and locally ablative approaches, a significant proportion of these patients will die due to their disease. In Sweden, the relative 5-year survival in patients with stage IV rectal cancer (i.e. metastatic disease) is 20% (6). According to the Swedish Registry of Liver, Bile duct and Gallbladder Cancer (Sweliv), relative 5year survival in patients with colorectal liver metastasis undergoing resection or ablation is 51% (7). This indicates that active follow-up and prompt initiation of treatment upon detection of metastases is relevant and may lead to long-term remission or even cure. The risk of developing metastases is proportional to the primary cancer stage. In rectal cancer, this is most evident for liver metastases (5). In order to identify patients with recurrent or metastatic disease as early as possible, there is a Swedish national standardised follow-up programme after rectal cancer surgery. Several attempts have been made to find evidence of improved survival with more intense follow-up programmes for colorectal cancer (8, 9). The COLOFOL trial (8) did not find a significant reduction of 5-year mortality when comparing high-frequency follow-up ...
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