Prognostic impact of at least 12 lymph nodes after neoadjuvant therapy in rectal cancer: A meta-analysis

Table 2 Prognosis of different lymph node yield after neoadjuvant therapy for rectal cancer

Ref.	n	Treatment	Number of LNs compared	OS (HR or percent)	DFS (HR or percent)
Yeo et al[27], 2020	94	Neoadjuvant CRT (RT 45 Gy + capecitabine)	LNs ≥ 8.5 vs LNs < 8.5	HR: 0.31 (95%CI: 0.15-0.64, P < 0.001)	-
			LNs ≥ 16.5 vs LNs < 16.5	-	HR: 0.46 (95%CI: 0.17-1.27, P = 0.13)
La Torre et al[19], 2013	123	Neoadjuvant CRT (RT 45 Gy + 5-FU)	LNs ≥ 6 vs LNs < 6	5-yr OS: 84% vs 75% (P = 0.03)	5-yr DFS: 83% vs 75% (P = 0.03)
Tsai et al[28], 2011	372	Neoadjuvant CRT (RT 45 Gy + 5-FU and/or capecitabine)	LNs > 7 vs LNs ≤ 7	5-yr OS: 86.9% vs 81% (P = 0.067)	-
Han et al[21], 2016	458	Neoadjuvant CRT (RT 45–50.4 Gy + 5-FU)	LNs ≥ 8 vs LNs < 8	HR: 0.5 (95%CI: 0.2-0.9, P = 0.002)	HR: 0.6 (95%CI: 0.4-1.1, P = 0.042)
Pitto et al[29], 2020	104	Neoadjuvant RT (RT 45 Gy + capecitabine)	LNs: 10-20 vs LNs ≤ 9 and ≥ 20	-	HR: 0.313 (95%CI: 0.1-0.99, P = 0.049)

OS: Overall survival; DFS: Disease-free survival; LNs: Lymph nodes; HR: Hazard ratio; CRT: Chemoradiation therapy; RT: Radiotherapy; 5-FU: 5-Fuorouracil; CI: Confidence interval.