Table 1.

Patient characteristics

	Total (n)	%	With FDG-avid LN metastasis	%	Metastasis rate †
Total patients	473		204		43
- Male	361	76	163	80	45
- Female	112	24	41	20	36
Age at diagnosis
- 20–49	38	8	22	11	58
- 50–59	103	22	44	22	43
- 60–69	156	33	70	34	45
- 70–79	125	26	50	25	40
- 80+	51	11	18	9	35
Median (range)	66 (28–95)		64 (28–88)
Race
- White	413	87	178	87	43
- Black	24	5	9	4	36
- Asian	18	4	9	4	50
- Other/Not specified	18	4	8	4	44
Tumor stage
- T1	22	5	9	4	41
- T2	59	12	18	9	31
- T3	345	73	148	73	43
- T4	19	4	12	6	63
- n/a	28	6	17	8	61
Tumor differentiation
- well-differentiated	7	1	3	1	43
- moderately-differentiated	219	46	95	47	43
- poorly-differentiated	205	43	94	46	46
- not specified	43	9	12	6	29
Tumor histology
- Adenocarcinoma	338	71	138	68	41
- Squamous Cell	135	29	66	32	49
Tumor location
Upper Thoracic	57	12	31	15	54
Cervical	15	3	3	1	20
- Adenocarcinoma	1	7	1	33	100
- Squamous Cell	14	93	2	67	14
Upper Mediastinal	42	9	28	14	67
- Adenocarcinoma	4	10	2	7	50
- Squamous Cell	38	90	26	93	68
Lower Thoracic	417	88	173	85	41
Lower Mediastinal	188	40	73	36	39
- Adenocarcinoma	124	66	46	63	37
- Squamous Cell	634	34	27	37	42
Gastroesophageal	229	48	100	49	44
- Adenocarcinoma	210	92	89	89	42
- Squamous Cell	19	8	11	11	58

†Metastasis rate is the percentage of total patients in a given category with FDG-avid LNM