Reliability and Effectiveness of GEWF Solution in the Identification of Lymph Nodes in Specimens of Colorectal Carcinoma

Abstract

Lymph node status is pivotal in the staging process of cancer. With regards to colorectal cancer, lymph node retrieval is always laborious. Sometimes, it is also a challenge to recover a minimum of 12 lymph nodes from the pericolorectal tissue. Among many proposed adjunctive solutions, GEWF solution (glacial acetic acid, ethanol, distilled water, and formaldehyde) has been introduced recently and suggested to be superior. To further evaluate its efficiency, the pericolorectal tissue, which has been reexamined extensively in the conventional condition, was refixed into GEWF solution in this study. More lymph nodes were found in 75% (n = 6) of the 8 experimental cases, and 50% (n = 4) of them had 12 or more yielded lymph nodes eventually. In addition, no adverse influences on the expressions of immunohistochemical and special stains were seen. These data support the reliability and effectiveness of GEWF solution in improvement of lymph node yield.