Prediction model of lymph node metastasis in superficial esophageal adenocarcinoma and squamous cell cancer including D2-40 immunostaining

Background It was the aim of our study to establish a model for prediction of lymph node metastases in superficial esophageal cancer. Methods We analyzed the clinical and histopathological data of 50 consecutive patients with pT1‐esophageal cancer who underwent oncological resection. Submucosal carcinomas (pT1b) were classified according to sm levels 1–3. D2‐40 immunostaining was investigated using the ABC technique. In a first step, we performed univariate analysis (One‐way ANOVA: Sigma restricted parameterization; test of SS whole vs. SS predicted) to test the predictive value of the following categorical parameters for lymph node status (positive/negative): sex, histologic tumor type, localization, surgical technique (transhiatal/transthoracic), grading, pT1‐subclassification (pT1a, pT1b sm 1–3), pL‐, pV‐status, and D2‐40 labeling. Simple regression was applied for the following continuous predictors: age and tumor size. All significant variables of univariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis. For this purpose, we used the General Liner Models's analysis (forward stepwise). In a third step, the Kruskal–Wallis test with post hoc comparisons was intended to define the cut‐off value of parameters tested. Results Only the following variables gained statistical significance in univariate analysis: sex, histological tumor type, grading, pT1‐subclassification, lymphatic infiltration, microvascular infiltration, D2‐40 immunostaining, and tumor size (P