Identification of Optimal Parameters for Assessing Lymph Node Status of Patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy.

Background: This study aimed to compare the prognostic discrimination power of pretreatment pathologic N stage (prepN), lymph node tumor regression grade (LNTRG), and posttreatment pathologic N (ypN) category for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) plus surgery.

Methods: The study reviewed 187 ESCC patients from two medical centers who underwent nCRT plus surgery. Pathologic LNTRG was defined by the proportion of viable tumor area within the tumor bed in lymph nodes (LNs).