Le XY, Feng JB, Guo Y, Zhou YQ, Li CM. Predicting preoperative lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer: Advancement and challenges. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(3): 102863 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i3.102863]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Chuan-Ming Li, MD, Professor, Department of Medical Imaging, Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, Chongqing University Central Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, No. 1 Jiankang Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400014, China. lichuanming@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Article-Type of This Article
Letter to the Editor
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Mar 24, 2025; 16(3): 102863 Published online Mar 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i3.102863
Predicting preoperative lymph node metastasis in esophageal cancer: Advancement and challenges
Xing-Yan Le, Jun-Bang Feng, Yi Guo, Yue-Qin Zhou, Chuan-Ming Li
Xing-Yan Le, Jun-Bang Feng, Yi Guo, Yue-Qin Zhou, Chuan-Ming Li, Department of Medical Imaging, Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, Chongqing University Central Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400014, China
Co-first authors: Xing-Yan Le and Jun-Bang Feng.
Co-corresponding authors: Yue-Qin Zhou and Chuan-Ming Li.
Author contributions: Le XY and Feng JB proposed the letter, drafted the initial version of the manuscript and contributed equally to this letter; Le XY and Guo Y were responsible for the letter design, literature search, manuscript revision and language proofreading; Zhou YQ and Li CM oversaw the manuscript submission process and ensured effective communication throughout the peer-review process; all the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None of the authors reported any relevant conflicts of interest related to this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chuan-Ming Li, MD, Professor, Department of Medical Imaging, Chongqing Emergency Medical Center, Chongqing University Central Hospital, School of Medicine, Chongqing University, No. 1 Jiankang Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400014, China. lichuanming@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn
Received: November 1, 2024 Revised: December 18, 2024 Accepted: January 7, 2025 Published online: March 24, 2025 Processing time: 82 Days and 7.3 Hours
Abstract
Accurate preoperative prediction of lymph node metastasis is crucial for developing clinical management strategies for patients with esophageal cancer. In this letter, we present our insights and opinions on a new nomogram proposed by Xu et al. Although this research has great potential, there are still concerns regarding the small sample size, limited consideration of biological complexity, subjective image segmentation, incomplete image feature extraction and statistical analyses. Furthermore, we discuss how to achieve more robust and accurate predictive performance in future research.
Core Tip: The nomogram is very valuable for predicting preoperative lymph node metastasis in patients with esophageal cancer (EC), but current research still has limitations. Improving the study design and statistical analyses of the current research are crucial for assessing EC prognosis and developing personalized treatment plans.
