AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to evaluate clinicopathological factors associated with lymph node metastasis in patients undergoing surgical treatment for gastric cancer, with particular emphasis on biological invasion parameters.MethodsThis retrospective study included patients who underwent surgical treatment for gastric cancer between 2010 and 2020 at a single tertiary center. Patients with distant metastasis or those who received neoadjuvant therapy were excluded. Demographic, clinical, and pathological variables were recorded. Lymph node metastasis was defined as the presence of at least one metastatic lymph node. Univariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with lymph node metastasis, followed by multivariable logistic regression analysis to determine independent predictors.ResultsA total of 122 patients were included. In univariate analysis, tumor diameter, number of retrieved lymph nodes, lymphovascular invasion, and perineural invasion were significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (all p 0.05). Age, sex, body mass index, hemoglobin, and serum albumin levels were not significantly associated with lymph node metastasis. In multivariable analysis, lymphovascular invasion emerged as the only independent predictor of lymph node metastasis (odds ratio 6.91, 95% confidence interval 2.67–17.89, p 0.001), whereas tumor diameter and perineural invasion lost statistical significance after adjustment.ConclusionLymphovascular invasion is the strongest independent predictor of lymph node metastasis in patients undergoing surgery for gastric cancer. These findings highlight the importance of tumor biological behavior and careful pathological assessment for postoperative risk stratification.KeywordsGastric cancer, Lymph node metastasis, Lymphovascular invasion, Pathology, Risk factors
Güler et al. (Tue,) studied this question.