Surgery
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Multicenter Study Controlled Clinical Trial
Predictors of occult nodal metastasis in colon cancer: results from a prospective multicenter trial.
The relationship between primary colon cancer and occult nodal metastases (OMs) detected by cytokeratin immunohistochemistry (CK-IHC) is unknown. We sought to investigate the correlation of clinicopathologic features of colon cancer with OMs and to identify predictors of OM. ⋯ Adverse primary pathologic colon cancer characteristics correlate with OMs. In patients with negative nodes on H&E and stage T3/T4 colon cancer, lymphovascular invasion, or high tumor grade, consideration should be given to performing CK-IHC. The detection of OMs in this subset may influence decisions regarding adjuvant chemotherapy and risk stratification.