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The concept of the sentinel lymph node is important because of the advent of the sentinel lymph node biopsy technique, also known as a sentinel node procedure. This technique is used in the staging of certain types of cancer to see if they have spread to any lymph nodes, since lymph node metastasis is one of the most important prognostic signs .
Lymph node biopsy is a test in which a lymph node or a piece of a lymph node is removed for examination under a microscope (see: biopsy). The lymphatic system is made up of several lymph nodes connected by lymph vessels. The nodes produce white blood cells (lymphocytes) that fight infections. When an infection is present, the lymph nodes swell ...
The sentinel node market experienced high growth in the early and mid-1990s, starting with melanoma sentinel node surgical search and breast cancer sentinel node staging; both are currently considered standards of care. [4] The use of a radioactive tracer, rather than a coloured dye, was proposed in 1984. [5] [6]
SLN biopsy is indicated for patients with T1 and T2 lesions (<5 cm) and carries a number of recommendations for use on patient subgroups. [10] Recent trends continue to favor less radical axillar node resection even in the presence of some metastases in the sentinel node. [11]
For clinical stages I and II breast cancer, axillary lymph node dissection should only be performed after first attempting sentinel node biopsy. [4] If cancer cells are found in the nodes, it increases the risk of metastatic breast cancer. Another method of determining breast cancer spread is to perform an endoscopic axillary sentinel node biopsy.
A sentinel node biopsy can establish cancer staging of the axilla if there are positive lymph nodes present. [5] It is also less risky than performing a lymphadenectomy, having fewer side effects and a much lower chance of causing lymphedema. [5] If cancer is not present in the sentinel lymph nodes, then the axillary lymph node dissection ...
Recently, the technique of sentinel lymph node biopsy has been developed to reduce the complications of lymph node surgery while allowing assessment of the involvement of nodes with tumor. [111] Biopsy of sentinel lymph nodes is a widely used procedure when treating cutaneous melanoma. [112] [113]
Sentinel lymph node biopsy is the analysis of a few removed sentinel nodes for the presence of cancerous cells. A radioactive substance is used to dye the sentinel nodes for easy identification and removal. [2] If cancer is detected in the sentinel node then further treatment is needed.