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What distinguishes a sentinel node from other nodes?
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.
What is lymphiscintigraphy?
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.
What is most important in stage determination and regional lymph node involvement?
Of primary importance to stage determination and regional lymph node involvement is identification and analysis of the sentinel lymph node.
What is sentinel lymph node mapping and biopsy?
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.
Implication of a Positive sentinel node?
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.
When is a full resection of the lymph node group completed following a sentinel mapping procedure?
If they show microscopic deposits of tumor, then the full resection of the lymph node group may be completed.
What are the most common sites for mestastic breast cancer?
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.
What occurrence led to the development of the technique of sentinel lymph node biopsy?
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.
What is learned by the procedure known as sentinel node mapping?
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.
By what measure does sentinel lymph node biopsy have a significantly lower rate of complications than axillary lymph node dissection?
One study found that only 2.6% of patients who had SLNB developed lymphedema, compared to 27% of patients who had ALND.
What is a small node of tissue that filters lymph?
A lymph node.
What are possible causes of a false negative laboratory report after a sentinel lymph node biopsy?
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.
