Table 3 Distribution of suspicious lymph nodes distinguished by size
| Â | All | Resection group | Exploration group | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
All LN stations together | n = 935a | n = 685 | n = 250 |  |
 No suspicious LN | 784 (83.9%) | 603 (88%) | 181 (72.4%) |  |
  <  1 cm | 63 (6.7%) | 39 (5.7%) | 24 (9.6%) |  |
  1–1.5 cm | 71 (7.6%) | 37 (5.4%) | 34 (13.6%) |  |
  >  1.5 cm | 17 (1.8%) | 6 (0.9%) | 11 (4.4%) |  |
Hepatoduodenal lig. | n = 187 | n = 137 | n = 50 |  |
 No suspicious LN | 119 (63.6%) | 94 (68.6%) | 25 (50%) | p = 0.001 |
  <  1 cm | 22 (11.8%) | 18 (13.1%) | 4 (8%) |  |
  1–1.5 cm | 33 (17.6%) | 21 (15.3%) | 12 (24%) |  |
  >  1.5 cm | 13 (7%) | 4 (3%) | 9 (18%) |  |
Retropancreatic | n = 187 | n = 137 | n = 50 |  |
 No suspicious LN | 162 (86.6%) | 125 (91.3%) | 37 (74%) | p = 0.009 |
  <  1 cm | 9 (4.8%) | 4 (2.9%) | 5 (10%) |  |
  1–1.5 cm | 16 (8.6%) | 8 (5.8%) | 8 (16%) |  |
  >  1.5 cm | – | – | – |  |
Lower curvature | n = 187 | n = 137 | n = 50 |  |
  No suspicious LN | 154 (82.3%) | 120 (87.6%) | 34 (68%) | p = 0.009 |
  <  1 cm | 16 (8.6%) | 9 (6.6%) | 7 (14%) |  |
  1–1.5 cm | 16 (8.6%) | 7 (5.1%) | 9 (18%) |  |
  >  1.5 cm | 1 (0.5%) | 1 (0.7%) | – |  |
Interaortocaval | n = 187 | n = 137 | n = 50 |  |
 No suspicious LN | 165 (88.2%) | 127 (92.7%) | 38 (76%) | p = 0.004 |
  <  1 cm | 14 (7.5%) | 8 (5.9%) | 6 (12%) |  |
  1–1.5 cm | 6 (3.2%) | 1 (0.7%) | 5 (10%) |  |
  >  1.5 cm | 2 (1.1%) | 1 (0.7%) | 1 (2%) |  |
Supradiaphragmal | n = 187 | n = 137 | n = 50 |  |
 No suspicious LN | 184 (98.4%) | 137 (100%) | 47 (94%) | p = 0.015 |
  <  1 cm | 2 (1.1%) | – | 2 (4%) |  |
  1–1.5 cm | – | – | – |  |
  >  1.5 cm | 1 (0.5%) | – | 1 (2%) |  |