Gastric cancer staging by lymph node sampling has a profound effect on patient survival. Survival of patients with gastric cancer can be compromised if the staging is done inadequately. This can happen if too few lymph nodes are removed and analyzed.
A study in an issue of Cancer, a peer-review journal of the American Cancer Society revealed that less than one third of gastric cancer patients had adequate lymph node assessments (ALNA). There was a change in the guidelines of the staging system for gastric cancer in 1997 but since then only minimal improvements have been made.
Compliance with the new guidelines remains poor because the lymph nodes removed and sampled since the change in the guidelines only increased from 9 nodes to 10. The guidelines now say that 15 lymph nodes removed and analyzed should be the standard. The lymph nodes that are tested will show how far the cancer has spread. If you do not have the correct information that the lymph node sampling can provide it can cause the patient to receive incorrect treatments and less survival rates.
