Title: A novel pN3 gastric cancer staging system with superior prognostic utility based upon
the examination of over 31 lymph nodes: a propensity score-matching analysis
Version: 1 Date: 21 Jun 2021
Reviewer's report:
By using the SEER database, the data of examined lymph nodes in patients with gastric cancer
were analyzed in this study and developed a novel TNM staging system for pN3 patients.
The results of study is important in survival evaluation and decision-making for pN3 patients
according different numbers of examined and metastatic lymph nodes. The statistic method in
present study was appropriate.
While high discrimination and calibration for their model was demonstrated, several minor
suggestions should be addressed here:
1. Why did the authors exclude patients with cardia cancers?
2. Why did pT3 and pT4a patients were analyzed together in the survival analyses shown in
Figure 4?
3. Although the number of examined lymph nodes is directed to be more than 15 at present, this
number is still insufficient in many cases. Please discuss this situation in the Discussion section.
4. N stages and T stages illustrated in Figure 4B-4F and Figure 5 should be exchanged into pN
stages and pT stages.
Title: A novel pN3 gastric cancer staging system with superior prognostic utility based upon
the examination of over 31 lymph nodes: a propensity score-matching analysis
Version: 1 Date: 21 Jun 2021
Reviewer's report:
By using the SEER database, the data of examined lymph nodes in patients with gastric cancer
were analyzed in this study and developed a novel TNM staging system for pN3 patients.
The results of study is important in survival evaluation and decision-making for pN3 patients
according different numbers of examined and metastatic lymph nodes. The statistic method in
present study was appropriate.
While high discrimination and calibration for their model was demonstrated, several minor
suggestions should be addressed here:
1. Why did the authors exclude patients with cardia cancers?
2. Why did pT3 and pT4a patients were analyzed together in the survival analyses shown in
Figure 4?
3. Although the number of examined lymph nodes is directed to be more than 15 at present, this
number is still insufficient in many cases. Please discuss this situation in the Discussion section.
4. N stages and T stages illustrated in Figure 4B-4F and Figure 5 should be exchanged into pN
stages and pT stages.
Please review this paper.
user
Title: A novel pN3 gastric cancer staging system with superior prognostic utility based upon
the examination of over 31 lymph nodes: a propensity score-matching analysis
Version: 1 Date: 21 Jun 2021
Reviewer's report:
By using the SEER database, the data of examined lymph nodes in patients with gastric cancer
were analyzed in this study and developed a novel TNM staging system for pN3 patients.
The results of study is important in survival evaluation and decision-making for pN3 patients
according different numbers of examined and metastatic lymph nodes. The statistic method in
present study was appropriate.
While high discrimination and calibration for their model was demonstrated, several minor
suggestions should be addressed here:
1. Why did the authors exclude patients with cardia cancers?
2. Why did pT3 and pT4a patients were analyzed together in the survival analyses shown in
Figure 4?
3. Although the number of examined lymph nodes is directed to be more than 15 at present, this
number is still insufficient in many cases. Please discuss this situation in the Discussion section.
4. N stages and T stages illustrated in Figure 4B-4F and Figure 5 should be exchanged into pN
stages and pT stages.
assistant