Molecular diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in patients with upper urinary tract cancer who underwent lymphadenectomy

Abstract

Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction could detect micrometastasis in patients with upper urinary tract urothelial cancer. However, the prognosis of patients with micrometastasis is better than patients with pathologically metastasized lymph nodes, and similar to patients without micrometastasis.

Editorial Comment to Molecular diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in patients with upper urinary tract cancer who underwent lymphadenectomy

“…Interestingly, the use of an anatomical LND template is likely to have a greater impact on patient survival than the number of lymph nodes removed. Following this “lesson,” Kodama et al . recently attempted to explore the clinical use of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT–PCR) test assay of four different kinds of molecules in order to detect nodal micrometastases in patients with UTUC submitted to radical nephroureterectomy and extended LND according to the template proposed by Kondo et al .…”