Introduction: Ex vivo methylene blue (MB) injection into the main supplying arteries
of the colorectal specimen after surgical removal is an uncomplicated technique to
support lymph node harvest during pathological evaluation. The primary aim of this
randomized, interventional, bicentric trial was to evaluate the impact of MB injection
on lymph node yield, with secondary aims assessing the accuracy of lymph node staging
and the effect on 5-year overall survival for patients undergoing resection of colorectal
cancer.
