Experimental study on trans-nodal cancer chemotherapy for metastatic lymph nodes.

As complete dissection of metastatic lymph nodes in the upper mediastinum is impossible in conventional surgery for esophageal carcinoma, we devised a form of intraoperative local adjuvant cancer chemotherapy for metastatic lymph nodes of the mediastinum, via tracheal bifurcation lymph nodes located at the anatomical pivot in the upper mediastinal lymph flow. Emulsion type bleomycin (BLM) was injected into the bifurcation lymph nodes of mongrel dogs, and BLM was identified in the pulmotracheal lymph nodes within 20 minutes. When the cervicothoracic lymph nodes in the ipsilateral side were dissected beforehand, the BLM levels in the contralateral side doubled those seen in the controls. In rabbits with VX2 carcinoma, the level of BLM decreased in lymph nodes with metastasis, however, the spread was still evident even when about 75 per cent of the nodes were occupied with metastasis.