Colorectal cancer lymph node dissection and disease survival.

The debate regarding the two possible roles of lymphadenectomy in surgical oncology, prognostic or therapeutic, is still ongoing. Furthermore, the use of lymphadenectomy as a proxy for the quality of the surgical procedure is another feature of discussion. Nevertheless, this reckoning depends on patient conditions, aggressiveness of the tumor, the surgeon, and the pathologist, and then it is not an absolute surrogate for the surgical quality.