BACKGROUND: Lymph node status is the most important prognostic and predictive factor in curatively resected colorectal cancer. According to TNM staging system, a minimum number of 12 regional lymph nodes is to be examined for the correct staging. In addition to the status of lymph nodes other important prognostic factors should be reported by the pathologist. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed to analyze how many of regional lymph nodes were examined in colorectal cancer specimens in two hospitals (Czech Republic) during the last few years. Availability of other prognostic factors important for the management of the disease after surgery was always investigated. RESULTS: In the hospital "A", the examination of lymph nodes were not sufficient in 43.8% of 121 cases analyzed, in the hospital "B", the number of examined lymph nodes was less than a minimum of 12 in all 162 cases. There were often no data available regarding to a histological examination of resection margins, grading and angioinvasion. CONCLUSION: Reporting of the standard and most important prognostic factors in colorectal cancer was not sufficient in two selected hospitals and it may not be much better in others. It might have a deteriorating influence on the outcomes despite of successfully performed primary surgery. Search for the new prognostic and predictive factors, that would help us to stratify the patients for the optimal tailored therapy is surely needed, but the standard staging parameters, as are the lymph node involvement, resection margins, grading and angioinvasion, must not be forgotten as occurred to be in many cases of our study.

Masarykův onkologický ústav a Univerzitní onkologické centrum Masarykovy univerzity v Brnĕ