Extra-capsular growth of lymph node metastasis correlates with poor prognosis and high SOX9 expression in gastric cancer

Extra-capsular growth (ECG) describes the extension of neoplastic cells beyond the lymph node capsule. Aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of ECG and its association with a stem cell like phenotype indicated by expression of the transcription factor SOX9 in gastric cancer.