Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Oncol. Apr 24, 2024; 15(4): 472-477
Published online Apr 24, 2024. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v15.i4.472
Management of lateral pelvic lymph nodes in rectal cancer: Is it time to reach an Agreement?
Sigfredo E Romero-Zoghbi, Fernando López-Campos, Felipe Couñago
Sigfredo E Romero-Zoghbi, Department of Radiation Oncology, GenesisCare, Talavera de la Reina 45600, Toledo, Spain
Fernando López-Campos, Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitario Ramón Y Cajal, Madrid 28034, Spain
Fernando López-Campos, Felipe Couñago, Department of Radiation Oncology, GenesisCare - Hospital Universitario Vithas Madrid La Milagrosa, Madrid 28010, Spain
Author contributions: Romero-Zoghbi SE designed the overall concept, outline of the manuscript and wrote the manuscript; Lopez-Campos F contributed to the introduction and design of the manuscript; Couñago F, contributed to the writing, and editing the manuscript; All authors revised the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no potential conflict of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Felipe Couñago, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Department of Radiation Oncology, GenesisCare - Hospital Universitario Vithas Madrid La Milagrosa, Calle de Modesto Lafuente, 14, Chamberí, Madrid 28010, Spain. felipe.counago@genesiscare.es
Received: December 21, 2023
Peer-review started: December 21, 2023
First decision: January 25, 2024
Revised: February 1, 2024
Accepted: March 11, 2024
Article in press: March 11, 2024
Published online: April 24, 2024
Processing time: 123 Days and 8.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The lack of consensus in managing metastatic lateral pelvic lymph nodes in stage II/III rectal cancer patients below the peritoneal reflection, with differing medical strategies between East and West, generates uncertainty due to limited available evidence. Characteristics such as lymph node size, neoadjuvant treatment, and selective dissection of lateral pelvic lymph nodes are part of the strategies, but the first steps toward a solid and global consensus must be taken to resolve the uncertainties present in this field.