Clinical significance of enlarged cardiophrenic lymph nodes by CT in advanced ovarian cancer

This study aims to assess the clinical influence of enlarged cardiophrenic lymph nodes (CPLN) on staging computed tomography (CT) among patients with advanced ovarian cancer. This retrospective cohort study included 320 patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer who underwent staging CT from May 2008 to January 2019. The CPLN diameter was the average of two radiologists' measurements. Enlarged CPLN was defined as a short-axis diameter of ≥5 mm. Clinical and imaging findings, management decisions, and progression-free survival(PFS) were compared between patients with and without enlarged CPLN. Enlarged CPLN was found in 129 (40.3%) patients, which was significantly associated with more pelvic peritoneal carcinomatosis (odds ratio [OR]: 6.61 with 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.51-28.99), and involved the greater omentum (OR: 6.41, 95% CI: 3.05-13.46), spleen capsule nodules (OR: 2.83, 95% CI: 1.58-5.06), and liver capsule nodules (OR: 2.55, 95% CI: 1.57-4.17). The optimal cytoreduction rates did not differ between patients with and without enlarged CPLN ( = 0.656). The presence of enlarged CPLN had a significant negative influence on PFS (median PFS, 23.5 vs. 80.6 months, respectively, CPLN ≥5 mm versus