• BRIEF REPORTS • Detection of lymph nodes micrometastases in Dukes ’ A and B colorectal cancer using anti-cytokeratin antibodies AE1/AE3

AIM: To detect lymph nodes micrometastases and analyze its correlation with clinicopathological parameters in Dukes’ A and B colorectal cancer patients. METHODS: One hundred and fourteen patients with colorectal cancer (Dukes ’ A 16; Dukes ’ B 98) undergoing curative operation without histological lymph nodes metastases were studied between 2001 and 2003. A total of 2 481 lymph nodes were analyzed using monoclonal cytokeratin antibody AE1/AE3 (DAKO, Carpinteria, CA) for immunohist-ochemistry. RESULTS: In total, 33 (29%) patients were positive for cancer cell by immunohistochemistry. In 31 (94%) patients of them positive nodes showed single tumor cell or small groups of tumor cells; and tumor deposits measuring 0.