@article {Resch742, author = {Annika Resch and Lars Harbaum and Marion J Pollheimer and Peter Kornprat and Richard A Lindtner and Cord Langner}, title = {Grading lymph node metastasis: a feasible approach for prognostication of patients with stage III colorectal cancer}, volume = {68}, number = {9}, pages = {742--745}, year = {2015}, doi = {10.1136/jclinpath-2014-202772}, publisher = {BMJ Publishing Group}, abstract = {This study aimed to assess the clinicopathological significance of tumour differentiation of metastatic lymph node tissue in patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)/Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) stage III colorectal cancer. In a cohort of 145 patients, lymph node grades were G1 in 77 (53.1\%), G2 in 41 (28.3\%) and G3 in 27 (18.6\%) cases, respectively. Despite differences in 77 (53.1\%) cases, primary tumour and lymph node grade correlated significantly (Somer{\textquoteright}s D=0.639; p\<0.001). Lymph node grade was significantly associated with N classification (p=0.009), tumour size (p=0.024) and lymphovascular invasion (p=0.004). Patients with lymph node grade G1 had better progression-free survival (p=0.031) and cancer-specific survival (p=0.008). Multivariable analysis identified lymph node grade as independent predictor of cancer-specific survival in this cohort. In conclusion, lymph node grade emerged as a promising novel prognostic variable for patients with AJCC/UICC stage III disease. Additional studies are warranted to validate this new finding.}, issn = {0021-9746}, URL = {https://jcp.bmj.com/content/68/9/742}, eprint = {https://jcp.bmj.com/content/68/9/742.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Pathology} }