Mesenteric and mesocolic lymph node metastases from ovarian carcinoma: A clinicopathological analysis

The aim of this study was to analyze the clinicopathological features of ovarian carcinomas with metastases to mesenteric or mesocolic lymph nodes. Thirty patients with primary ovarian carcinomas metastatic to the bowel were analyzed for the extent of bowel infiltration, lymph node involvement, lymphatic channel involvement, and the number of examined lymph nodes. Metastases to mesenteric or mesocolic lymph nodes were found in 20 of the 30 patients. Metastases to mesenteric/mesocolic lymph nodes were more frequently associated with lymph vascular invasion at the site of the bowel implants and metastatic involvement of multiple bowel segments compared to mesenteric/mesocolic node-negative cases (P < 0.04). There was no significant difference between the mesenteric/mesocolic node-positive and node-negative patients with regard to FIGO stage, histologic type, tumor grade, residual tumor after surgery, gross pattern of bowel metastases, and involvement of retroperitoneal lymph nodes. While the presence of mesenteric/mesocolic lymph node metastases tended to be associated with shorter survival, this was not statistically significant. The prognostic and putative therapeutic importance of positive mesenteric/mesocolic lymph nodes in ovarian carcinoma awaits further evaluation in a larger number of cases.