Annals of surgery
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The aim of this study was to determine whether the risk of systemic disease after esophagectomy can be predicted by the number of involved lymph nodes. ⋯ This study shows that the number of involved lymph nodes can be used to predict the likelihood of systemic disease in patients with esophageal cancer. The probability of systemic disease exceeds 50% when 3 or more nodes are involved and approaches 100% when the number of involved nodes is 8 or more. Additional therapy is warranted in these patients with a high probability of systemic disease.