© Oxford University Press 2007.
NEWS |
Debate Over Sentinel Node Biopsy Continues
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Three decades after urologist Ramon Cabanas, M.D., made the first published reference to the "so-called sentinel lymph node," the role and utility of sentinel lymph node (SLN) evaluation in cancer continues to provide fuel for debate. In particular, oncologists are still arguing the clinical significance of micrometastases in sentinel nodes of breast cancer patients.
Removing the lymph nodes under the arm, called axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), has been the traditional approach to breast cancer staging. Unquestionably accurate for determining whether breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, ALND can result in substantial long-term problems, including loss of arm sensation and movement. Since the early 1990s, SLN biopsy has emerged as a less invasive approach to determine whether cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. However, questions have persisted about SLN biopsy's relative accuracy compared to ALND.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology has
Microscopic Questions
Guiding Staging