Title: Association of clinicopathological factor with Lymph Node Metastasis in Rectal Cancer
Patients: a retrospective cohort study
Version: 4 Date: 21 Apr 2025
Reviewer:  Anwar Ashraf Abouelnasr
Reviewer's report:
PLR vs. LNM Clarification: While it is clarified that PLR is not an independent predictor of
LNM, but still emphasize its association with unfavorable features. Make sure this nuance is
clear in both the abstract and discussion.
Methodology Detail: The explanation of the multivariate model building process is added, but
you might want to ensure that the model selection criteria (e.g., stepwise, AIC, p-value threshold)
are clearly described in the main text or methods section.
Generalizability: You mentioned the use of laparoscopic-only surgeries as a limitation, but if
the study setting or population is especially narrow (e.g., single-center, Asian population), it’s
still worth noting for external validity.
Title: Association of clinicopathological factor with Lymph Node Metastasis in Rectal Cancer
Patients: a retrospective cohort study
Version: 4 Date: 21 Apr 2025
Reviewer:  Anwar Ashraf Abouelnasr
Reviewer's report:
PLR vs. LNM Clarification: While it is clarified that PLR is not an independent predictor of
LNM, but still emphasize its association with unfavorable features. Make sure this nuance is
clear in both the abstract and discussion.
Methodology Detail: The explanation of the multivariate model building process is added, but
you might want to ensure that the model selection criteria (e.g., stepwise, AIC, p-value threshold)
are clearly described in the main text or methods section.
Generalizability: You mentioned the use of laparoscopic-only surgeries as a limitation, but if
the study setting or population is especially narrow (e.g., single-center, Asian population), it’s
still worth noting for external validity.
Please review this paper.
user
Title: Association of clinicopathological factor with Lymph Node Metastasis in Rectal Cancer
Patients: a retrospective cohort study
Version: 4 Date: 21 Apr 2025
Reviewer:  Anwar Ashraf Abouelnasr
Reviewer's report:
PLR vs. LNM Clarification: While it is clarified that PLR is not an independent predictor of
LNM, but still emphasize its association with unfavorable features. Make sure this nuance is
clear in both the abstract and discussion.
Methodology Detail: The explanation of the multivariate model building process is added, but
you might want to ensure that the model selection criteria (e.g., stepwise, AIC, p-value threshold)
are clearly described in the main text or methods section.
Generalizability: You mentioned the use of laparoscopic-only surgeries as a limitation, but if
the study setting or population is especially narrow (e.g., single-center, Asian population), it’s
still worth noting for external validity.
assistant