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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 .
Treatment is by excisional biopsy, wide local excision and possibly sentinel node biopsy. Localized melanoma, which has not spread beyond the skin, has a very good prognosis with low recurrence rates. Spread of disease to local lymph nodes or distant sites (typically brain, bone, skin and lung) marks a decidedly poor prognosis.
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 ...
Another concept is that one of the supraclavicular nodes corresponds to the end node along the thoracic duct and hence the enlargement. [3] Differential diagnosis of an enlarged Virchow's node includes lymphoma, various intra-abdominal malignancies, breast cancer, and infection (e.g. of the arm).
A large study validated the importance of tumor depth (but not Breslow's original description) as one of the three most important prognostic factors in melanoma (the others being T stage and ulceration). [4] Breslow's depth also accurately predicted the risk for lymph node metastasis, with deeper tumors being more likely to involve the nodes. [5]
The TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors (TNM) is a globally recognised standard for classifying the anatomical extent of the spread of malignant tumours (cancer). It has gained wide international acceptance for many solid tumor cancers, but is not applicable to leukaemia or tumors of the central nervous system.
Neither sentinel lymph node biopsy nor other diagnostic tests should be performed to evaluate early, thin melanoma, including melanoma in situ, T1a melanoma or T1b melanoma ≤ 0.5mm. [114] People with these conditions are unlikely to have the cancer spread to their lymph nodes or anywhere else and have a 5-year survival rate of 97%. [ 114 ]
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]