Lymph node dissection for Siewert II esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma: a retrospective study of 136 cases

BackgroundTo compare the lymph node dissection with the right transthoracic Ivor-Lewis (IL) procedure to that with the left transthoracic (LT) approach for Siewert type II adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric (AEG) junction. MethodsIn this study, 136 patients with Siewert type II AEG who met the inclusion criteria underwent surgical resection were divided into the IL (47 cases) and LT (89 cases) groups. The number and frequency of the dissected lymph nodes in each station were compared between the two groups. ResultsThe IL group had a longer proximal surgical margin (P=0.000) and more total (P=0.000), thoracic (P=0.000), and abdominal lymph nodes (P=0.000) dissected than the LT group. In general, the IL group had a higher dissection rate in each thoracic lymph node station (P<0.05) than the LT group. The dissection rates of the hepatic artery, splenic artery and celiac trunk lymph nodes were higher in the IL group than in the LT group (P<0.05). The lymph node metastasis rate was 78.7% in the IL group, higher than the 61.8% in the LT group (P=0.045). ConclusionsThe right transthoracic IL procedure was demonstrated to be a better application than the LT approach for Siewert type II AEG in terms of the number and frequency of lymph node resections.