A Prospective Observational Study of Left Tracheobronchial Lymph Node Metastasis in Patients With Esophageal Cancer

Although the survival of esophageal cancer patients has improved with the application of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy, esophageal surgery remains one of the procedures with a high risk of postoperative complications, despite significant advancements in surgical techniques in recent years.

curative surgery includes tumor resection, digestive tract reconstruction, and thorough lymph node dissection. Our previous studies demonstrated that complete right thoracic lymph node dissection significantly improves long-term survival compared to incomplete left thoracic dissection (1). However, extended three-field lymph node dissection did not show survival benefits over conventional two-field dissection (2). Therefore, the precise scope of two-field lymph node dissection in esophageal cancer requires further refinement.

Current preoperative diagnostic methods for lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer suffer from limited sensitivity (3). In traditional two-field dissection, removing the left tracheobronchial lymph nodes may compromise blood supply to the trachea and bronchi, increase the risk of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, and elevate postoperative complications such as cough and pneumonia. Our retrospective study on left tracheobronchial lymph node (106TBL) metastasis revealed a low transfer rate of approximately 2% (4). The risk factors for 106TBL metastasis and its long-term prognostic impact remain unclear, necessitating prospective studies to validate the necessity of this nodal station dissection.

This study aims to prospectively investigate the incidence and risk factors of tracheobronchial lymph node metastasis within the conventional dissection range, providing robust evidence for personalized treatment strategies in esophageal cancer.

Reference: