Impact of neoadjuvant therapy on nodal harvest in clinical stage III rectal cancer: Optimum cut-offs for nodal staging

The study investigated the impact of neoadjuvant therapy on nodal harvest in clinical stage III rectal cancer. The current standard of a minimum lymph node harvest (lnh) of 12 for appropriate nodal staging in resectable rectal cancer was challenged as neoadjuvant therapy led to a decrease in the number of lnh. The results showed that the optimal lnh to achieve accurate nodal staging varied depending on the tumor response to neoadjuvant therapies, highlighting the need for individualized criteria for nodal evaluation.