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 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.
Lymphoscintigraphy (sentinel lymph node mapping) is an imaging technique used to identify the lymph drainage basin, determine the number of sentinel nodes, differentiate sentinel nodes from subsequent nodes, locate the sentinel node in an unexpected location, and mark the sentinel node over the skin for biopsy.
Of primary importance to stage determination and regional lymph node involvement is identification and analysis of the sentinel lymph node.
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.
A positive sentinel node suggests that cancer cells have spread from the primary tumor to nearby lymph nodes. Further evaluation and treatment, such as lymph node dissection and adjuvant therapy, may be needed to determine the extent of spread and reduce the risk of recurrence.
If they show microscopic deposits of tumor, then the full resection of the lymph node group may be completed.
Breast cancer most commonly metastasises first to lymph nodes in the axilla of the same side as the affected breast. In more advanced disease, the cancer commonly metastasises to lymph nodes in other regions, to bone, to the liver, and/or to the lungs, and later possibly also to the contralateral breast and to other organs. When there is no evident lymph node metastasis or distant metastasis, the sentinel node may be examined to confirm absence of axillary lymph node metastasis. The lymph nodes in the axilla drain fluid (lymph) from the breast by interconnecting lymph vessels, and the "sentinel node" is the first node to receive lymph from the particular tumour. If there is no tumour in the sentinel node (and no signs of metastasis to other sites), breast cancer has a very good chance of cure after treatment.
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.
These sentinel nodes are thus identifiable and are the most likely to harbor any regional metastatic disease. If these nodes alone are biopsied and are normal, the rest of the lymph node group can be spared.
One study found that only 2.6% of patients who had SLNB developed lymphedema, compared to 27% of patients who had ALND.
A lymph node.
poor timing of the dye injection, the way in which the pathologist prepared the tissue for examination, or the existence of previously undiscovered sentinel nodes.