Factors associated with poor lymph node harvest after colorectal cancer surgery in Menoufia University Hospitals

Objectives Adequate lymph node harvest (LNH) is an important factor for the correct staging and subsequent proper adjuvant therapy for patients with colon cancer. Dissection of more than or equal to 12 lymph nodes (LNs) is recommended by American Joint Committee on Cancer to be adequate, and below this number is considered insufficient, which will affect adjuvant therapy. So, we aimed in this study to analyze the clinicopathological and surgical factors associated with poor LNH. Patients and methods We have retrospectively analyzed the data of 75 patients who underwent curative resection for stages I-III colon cancer in Menoufia University Hospital, Egypt, between January 2020 and March 2022. Variables like age, sex, primary site, type of surgery, specimen length, tumor size, and stage were evaluated for their effect on the LNH. Results Of 75 patients, 11 (14.67%) patients had poor LNH (<= 12). On univariate analysis, inadequate LNH (=12) was associated with male patients, left colon+cancer, pT3-T4 diseases, short distal margin, resected specimen length, and after neoadjuvant therapy. On multivariate analysis, length of specimen, surgical margin, and after neoadjuvant therapy were found to significantly affect LNH. Conclusion Elderly, male patients with left colon cancer, shorter specimen length, advanced tumor stage, and after neoadjuvant therapy were at increased risk of a poor LNH.