Explain the role of lymph nodes in the possible spread of cancer?

Answer 1

When a person has cancer, sometimes the cancer will metastize to other areas of the body. When cancer has metastizes, the lymph nodes can become involved due to the cancer spreading through the lymphatic fluid.

Answer 2

Cancer spreads, or metastasizes, through the lymphatic system. This system controls the flow of certain fluids throughout the body. When cancerous cells move through the lymphatic system, they may start dividing at the new site, spreading the cancer.

Answer 3

a lymph node is where B and T cells of your immune system get "primed," as in they first meet their match of what molecule they should respond against to attack and remove from your body.

specifically, the B and T cells react against MHC molecules found on "non-self" molecules, whatever those may be. they get primed by dendritic cells (NOT the same thing as the dendrites on neurons). the dendritic cells endocytose (take up/eat) a microorganism (like a bacteria or a virus particle) and they take the certain molecular pattern of it that the T or B cell will respond to and attack. since they are new T and B cells in the lymph node to be primed, they don't actually attack the dendritic cell, they just recognize the molecule it's presenting and say "oh, ok, that's what i'm looking for out in the body to attack and destroy." once they've been primed they can be sent out into the body through the lymphatic vessels and circulatory system and into the tissues to potentially run into the specific molecule they are supposed to mount an attack against. this is also where, once a B cell meets it's antigen (molecule it is supposed to attack), it will multiply and differentiate into more B cells to act as "memory cells" for the next time that organism is around, and some of the new progeny cells will be come plasma cells (not the same thing as blood plasma) and will produce the actual antibodies that bind to the antigen and cause the T cells to come join the attack to continue the process of removal of whatever microorganism caused the attack.
T cells may also be multiplied here, but most B and T cell replication is done in the bone marrow. (except for mature B cell replication to produce the plasma and memory cells--this occurs in the lymph nodes.)

and the spleen is technically a lymph node, and it is where blood gets the microorganisms and dead T and B cells filtered out of it. there is very little if any priming going on in this "lymph node." mostly it just keeps the microorganisms and junk out of the blood as best it can so they don't get sent around and cause trouble or just clog up the blood with unnecessary waste.

hope this helped!

Answer 4

Lymph nodes are part of the immune system and may act as a filter for harmful substances, including cancer cells. If cancer cells break away from a primary tumor, they can potentially travel through the lymphatic system and be trapped in nearby lymph nodes. This can lead to the spread of cancer to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system.

Answer 5

lymph nodes filter out particles from the lymph before it enters the blood and contain non-granular white blood cells that act as phagocytes