Lymph node retrieval after colorectal cancer surgery: a comparative study of the efficacy between the conventional manual method and a new fat dissolution method

Purpose This study compared the efficacy of two different methods for lymph node (LN) searching after colorectal cancer surgery: the fat dissolution and the conventional manual method. Methods For the fat dissolution method, we used a commercially available solution of collagenase and lipase (FD group). The primary endpoint was the number of identified LNs in the FD group compared to an historical control (control group) after adjusting by propensity score matching. Results Using 37 matched patients from each group, we identified 20.6 ± 7.2 LNs using the fat dissolution method compared to 13.5 ± 5.9 using the conventional method ( t test, P