A benign tumor does not spread. If a tumor spreads, it is malignant.
A sentinel lymph node is the first lymph node that drains a cancer. If a cancer has not spread to the first draining lymph node near a cancer, there is a high likelihood it has not spread elsewhere.
A lump behind the ear may possibly be a swollen lymph node. It can also be a benign tumor, a cyst, or acne.
A sentinel lymph node is the first lymph node that drains a cancer. If a cancer has not spread to the first draining lymph node near a cancer, there is a high likelihood it has not spread elsewhere.
It can be caused by a lymph node that is swollen from tumor cells that have metastasized. Can be from from a tumor in the lungs.
If the melanoma is spreading through the lymph system, some of the tumor may grow there, resulting in a nodule part way between the primary site and the original lymph node.
Generally, when someone describes lymph nodes as "reactive", they mean that the lymph node abnormality / enlargement is caused by a benign condition (such as an irritant or infection or inflammation) and not a malignancy. It is not always possible to determine to what a node is "reacting", but use of the wording "reactive" generally connotes a benign / non-malignant process.
A new technique called sentinel lymph node mapping and biopsy often eliminates the need for removing some or all lymph nodes by testing the first lymph node for cancer.
If they show microscopic deposits of tumor, then the full resection of the lymph node group may be completed.
Any depth or size of tumor associated with regional lymph node involvement
the discovery that the human lymphatic system can be mapped with radioactive dyes, and that the lymph node(s) closest to a tumor serve to filter and trap cancer cells.
A lymph node dissection
A lymph node dissection