Objective: To evaluate whether the use of fat clearance technique improves the accuracy of staging for colon cancer.
Methods: Between June 2007 and December 2008, surgical specimens of 91 patients with colon cancer were procured. Between June 2007 and January 2008, routine technique for lymph node harvest including visualization and tactile sensation was used in 45 patients (conventional group), while lymph nodes of 46 patients between February 2008 and December 2008 were examined using fat clearance technique(fat clearance group).
Results: The mean of lymph nodes harvested was 32.7 using fat clearance technique, significantly higher than that(15.3) of the conventional group(P<0.01). The mean positive lymph nodes was 2.7 and 1.8 in the two groups, respectively, with a statistically significant difference(P<0.05). There were more stage III( colon cancer in the postoperative staging than that in the preoperative staging using fat clearance technique (31 vs.19, P<0.05), while there was no difference in stage III( colon cancer between postoperative staging and preoperative staging using conventional method (21 vs.19, P>0.05).
Conclusions: Fat clearance technique significantly increases number of lymph node retrieval and positive nodes, therefore the accuracy of postoperative staging is improved.