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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Gastroenterol.
Sec. Gastroenterology and Cancer
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgstr.2025.1503842

Colorectal lymph node harvest in cancer surgery, adequacy and treatment implication: a 5-year retrospective analysis from one of a tertiary Hospital in Ethiopia

Provisionally accepted
Sirna Emana Jaleta Sirna Emana Jaleta 1Abdo Kedir Abafogi Abdo Kedir Abafogi 1Tamirat Godebo Woyimo Tamirat Godebo Woyimo 1Gashahun Mekonnen Disassa Gashahun Mekonnen Disassa 1Sultan Jebel Usman Sultan Jebel Usman 1Abduletif Haji-Ababor Abagojam Abduletif Haji-Ababor Abagojam 1Kedir Negesso Tukeni Kedir Negesso Tukeni 2*
  • 1 Jimma University, Jimma, Oromia, Ethiopia
  • 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Colorectal cancer is one of the common malignancies, and obtaining sufficient lymph nodes after surgeries is critical for staging and subsequent treatment planning. While guidelines advocate collecting at least 12 lymph nodes, insufficient lymph node sampling can have catastrophic consequences. This was a retrospective study that looked at the parameters influencing lymph node retrieval during colorectal cancer surgery in one of tertiary hospital in Ethiopia. In this study, data from 85 patients' records for stages I-III were analyzed and divided into two groups: adequately harvested and inadequately harvested. The association between potential factors impacting optimal harvests was analyzed. The study found that the majority of cancer patients were between the ages of 34 and 53 years, in which the adequate lymph node retrieval was achieved only in 23% of cases. Procedures being performed by GI oncologic surgeons (P = 0.006, AOR;26.4), depth of invasion (AOR:14. P = 0.05), and length of specimen (AOR:5.365 P:0.045) were associated with improved adequacy of harvesting the lymph node. In conclusion, the study discovered that colorectal cancer primarily affects young people. Only a small number of participants had adequate lymph nodes harvested. The operating surgeon's expertise, tumor characteristics, and specimen lengths were the most important elements influencing lymph node retrieval in colorectal cancer surgery in the setting. Adequate sample length, combined with better availability to more qualified operators, may improve the adequacy of harvest in guiding future treatment decisions.

    Keywords: colorectal cancer, Lymphadenectomy, cancer lymph node harvest, Jimma medical Centre, Ethiopia

    Received: 29 Sep 2024; Accepted: 05 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Jaleta, Abafogi, Woyimo, Disassa, Usman, Abagojam and Tukeni. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kedir Negesso Tukeni, Department of Internal Medicine, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

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