The local control effect of surgical treatment after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal adenocarcinoma with inguinal lymph node metastasis

No consensus has been reached with regard to the optimal treatment strategy and the prognosis of patients with advanced rectal cancer and inguinal lymph node metastasis. We, therefore, retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 41 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who underwent surgery after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT). Six patients, with clinical inguinal lymph node metastasis determined by pretreatment imaging, underwent inguinal lymph node dissections after NACRT. Five patients survived without a relapse. Only 1 patient, who had been diagnosed with pathological inguinal lymph node metastasis, had a relapse in the right iliac lymph node 6 years after surgery. Surgical treatment after NACRT for rectal adenocarcinoma with inguinal lymph node metastasis contributes to an improvement in outcomes. NACRT plus inguinal lymph node dissection is an effective strategy for patients with inguinal lymph node metastasis from rectal adenocarcinoma. (author)