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REVIEW article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gastrointestinal Cancers: Gastric and Esophageal Cancers
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1527625

Supraclavicular Lymph Node Metastasis in Esophageal Carcinoma: A Topic of Ongoing Controversy

Provisionally accepted
Bowen Zhang Bowen Zhang Huan Zhang Huan Zhang Yu Chen Yu Chen Wanli Xia Wanli Xia Yichun Wang Yichun Wang *
  • First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China

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

    Lymph node metastasis is an important prognostic factor in esophageal carcinoma (EC).Currently, there are no consensus-based staging methods for EC with supraclavicular lymph node (SCLN) metastasis. In this review, we present a summary of several classification methods of the SCLNs and highlight their differences in anatomic definitions. Then, we analyze the lymphatic drainage of the SCLNs from esophagus and the distribution patterns of the SCLNs metastasis from EC. Moreover, we discuss the prognostic influence and different staging methods of the SCLN metastasis. In summary, the variations of different classification methods make the SCLNs confusing for clinical application. A standardized and precise definition of the SCLNs should be established urgently for EC. The SCLNs can drain lymphatics at various levels of the esophagus, even from the intramural esophagus directly. Therefore, the SCLNs can be metastatic in superficial EC and even become the sentinel nodes. Metastatic SCLNs are usually located on the surface of the scalenus anterior muscle and near the venous angle.Increasing evidences have shown that patients with SCLN metastasis have similar survival than those with regional lymph node metastasis and better survival than those with organ metastasis, which bring challenges to current staging methods.

    Keywords: esophageal cancer, Lymphatic Metastasis, Cancer staging, prognosis, Supraclavicular lymph node

    Received: 13 Nov 2024; Accepted: 08 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Zhang, Chen, Xia and Wang. 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: Yichun Wang, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.