Does Body Mass Index Affect the Number of Excised Lymph Nodes in Colorectal Cancer Surgery?

Abstract

Aim: This study investigated the effect of body mass index (BMI) on the total number of excised and metastatic lymph nodes in patients undergoing elective surgery for colorectal cancer. Method: The cases of 185 patients who were diagnosed with colorectal cancer were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into three groups according to BMI: patients with BMI scores of 24.9 kg/m2 and lower were designated as normal (group 1), those with BMI scores of 25-30 kg/ m2 were overweight (group 2), and those with BMI scores higher than 30 kg/m2 were obese (group 3). Following classification, differences in variables between the groups and the effects of BMI on the total number of excised and metastatic lymph nodes were evaluated. Results: There were 52 patients in group 1, 73 patients in group 2, and 60 patients in group 3. There were no statistically significant differences among the groups with regards to age, sex, tumor location, tumor invasion (T-stage), number of excised lymph nodes, number of metastatic lymph nodes, or tumor stage. The number of excised lymph nodes was found to be higher in right colon tumors than in left colon and rectal tumors (p=0.01). The results of the subgroup analyses revealed that rectal tumors were at a more advanced stage (p=0.02) and among patients with rectal tumors, significantly more lymph nodes were excised from patients in the non-neoadjuvant group (p=0.01). Conclusion: Our results led us to conclude that obesity does not affect the total number of excised and metastatic lymph nodes in colorectal cancer surgery. Surgeons should not be concerned about not being able to excise a sufficient number of lymph nodes during colorectal cancer surgery in patients with high BMI.

Keywords

• Colorectal cancer
• body mass index
• number of lymph nodes