1998 Volume 51 Issue 2 Pages 57-64
In this study, comparison between the TNM classfication and the general rules by the japanese research society for cancer of colon and rectum (JRS classification) concerning the grading of lymph node metastasis and the validity of the grouping of regional lymph nodes, was made. The study was conducted using cases of colon cancer which metastasized to lymph nodes after curative resection at the Department of Surgery of Cancer Institute Hospital between 1974 and 1988. The prognosis for the grading of lymph node metastasis was confirmed by the fact that siginificant differences in the five-year survival rates between the cases of n1 metastasis and those of n2 and n3 metastasis (n1:TNM 86.0%, JRS 84.5% ;n2 and n3 : TNM 65.7%, JRS 64.9%) could be seen. As to the grouping of regional lymph nodes, JRS classification, which is based on anatomy, is considered more reliable than TNM classification, considering the frequency of lymph node metastasis and the five-year survival rates.
