Risk factors for lymph node metastases and prognosticators of survival in patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy for colorectal cancer.

Background Systematic lymph node dissection is not routinely performed in patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy (PM) of colorectal cancer. The aim of the study was to identify risk factors for lymph node metastases (LNM) and to determine prognosticators for survival in colorectal cancer patients with pulmonary metastases. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our prospective database of 165 patients with colorectal cancer undergoing PM and systematic lymph node dissection with curative intent from 1999 to 2009. The χ 2 test, regression analyses, Kaplan-Meier analyses, log rank tests, and Cox regression analyses were used to determine prognosticators for LNM and survival. Results The pr…