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Resection of Esophageal Carcinoma: The Role of Lymph Node Dissection

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Barrett’s Esophagus

Abstract

The way lymph node metastases and cancer in general are looked upon has changed significantly over the years. From the middle of the 20th century cancer was thought of more and more as a disease already disseminated at the time of presentation, and tumor positive lymph nodes were considered metastatic disease. Lymph node dissection was accordingly not considered curative anymore, but turned into a mere staging procedure. Lymph node metastases had become “indicators, but not governors of survival”1.

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Hulscher, J.B.F., van Lanschot, J.J.B. (2001). Resection of Esophageal Carcinoma: The Role of Lymph Node Dissection. In: Tilanus, H.W., Attwood, S.E.A. (eds) Barrett’s Esophagus. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0829-6_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0829-6_27

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