Table 1.
Baseline characteristics and results with regard to number and size of nodes for all patients and for patients with and without positive nodes at pathology
| All (n = 39) | ypN0 (n = 25) | ypN+ (n = 14) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (months) | 70 (38–87) | 70 (52–87) | 65 (38–80) | p = 0.101 |
| Gender (% male) | 27 (69 %) | 18 (72 %) | 9 (64 %) | p = 0.617 |
| Clinical T-stage | ||||
| cT1 | 0 % | 0 | 0 | |
| cT2 | 4 (10 %) | 2 (8 %) | 2 (14 %) | |
| cT3 | 33 (85 %) | 21 (84 %) | 12 (86 %) | p = 0.480 |
| cT4 | 2 (5 %) | 2 (8 %) | 0 | |
| Clinical N-stage | ||||
| cN0 | 1 (3 %) | 1 (4 %) | 0 | |
| cN1 | 10 (26 %) | 6 (24 %) | 4 (29 %) | p = 0.782 |
| cN2 | 28 (72 %) | 18 (72 %) | 10 (71 %) | |
| Post-CRT clinical T-stage | ||||
| yT1 | 0 % | 0 % | 0 | |
| yT2 | 11 (28 %) | 7 (28 %) | 4 (29 %) | p = 0.550 |
| yT3 | 26 (67 %) | 16 (64 %) | 10 (71 %) | |
| yT4 | 2 (5 %) | 2 (8 %) | 0 | |
| Post-CRT clinical N-stage | ||||
| yN0 | 18 (46 %) | 15 (60 %) | 3 (21 %) | |
| yN1 | 14 (36 %) | 7 (28 %) | 7 (50 %) | p = 0.065 |
| yN2 | 7 (18 %) | 3 (12 %) | 4 (29 %) | |
| ypT stage | ||||
| ypT0 | 3 (8 %) | 2 (8 %) | 1 (7 %) | |
| ypT1 | 4 (10 %) | 4 (16 %) | 0 | |
| ypT2 | 10 (26 %) | 7 (28 %) | 3 (21 %) | p = 0.378 |
| ypT3 | 21 (54 %) | 11 (44 %) | 10 (71 %) | |
| ypT4 | 1 (3 %) | 1 (4 %) | 0 | |
| ypN stage | ||||
| ypN0 | 25 (64 %) | |||
| ypN1 | 9 (23 %) | NA | NA | |
| ypN2 | 5 (13 %) | |||
| Pre-CRT size (mean ± sd) | 3.8 (±2.0) | 3.6 (±1.6) | 6.3 (±3.5) | p < 0.0001 |
| Post-CRT size mean ± sd) | 2.5 (±1.7) | 2.3 (±1.4) | 4.5 (±2.8)) | p < 0.0001 |
| Number of nodes pre-CRT (mean ± sd) | 22 (±8) | 24 (±13) | 22 (±7) | p = 0.560 |
| Number of nodes post-CRT (mean ± sd) | 13 (±6) | 13 (±7) | 11 (±6) | p = 0.970 |
| Nodal harvest at pathology | 12 (±6) | 10 (±6) | 14 (±5) | p = 0.019 |
NA not applicable, CRT chemoradiation, sd standard deviation