Believe it or not, most people aren’t aware that they have lymph nodes, yet they’re incredibly important signal centers for something out of the ordinary. Lymph nodes are hundreds of small organs spread throughout your body. Essentially, their primary function is to filter out harmful foreign invaders such as germs and bacteria.
If you are diagnosed with an invasive melanoma of 0.8mm thickness or greater, your surgeon may speak with you about a sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure to help determine the stage of your melanoma. When melanoma spreads, it’s more than likely to travel to nearby lymph nodes first.
A sentinel node is the first lymph node to which cancer is likely to spread. A biopsy of this node carries important information related to the staging and prognosis of melanoma.
During the procedure, your doctor will inject a blue radioactive dye into the area around the tumor and use a special tool to identify the sentinel lymph nodes. Once located, they’ll make a small incision to remove the nodes.
After removal, the lymph nodes are sent to a pathologist for examination under a microscope. The pathologist will look for the presence of melanoma cells in the nodes.
You may experience side effects from the sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure, including:
- Numbness
- Pain
- Bruising
- A buildup of lymph fluid near the biopsy location
If the melanoma has spread, your doctor will probably recommend additional tests and treatment. It’s important to remember that the sentinel lymph node biopsy is just one tool used to determine the stage of melanoma.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Cecilia Larocca is a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Read More
Believe it or not, most people aren’t aware that they have lymph nodes, yet they’re incredibly important signal centers for something out of the ordinary. Lymph nodes are hundreds of small organs spread throughout your body. Essentially, their primary function is to filter out harmful foreign invaders such as germs and bacteria.
If you are diagnosed with an invasive melanoma of 0.8mm thickness or greater, your surgeon may speak with you about a sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure to help determine the stage of your melanoma. When melanoma spreads, it’s more than likely to travel to nearby lymph nodes first.
Read More A sentinel node is the first lymph node to which cancer is likely to spread. A biopsy of this node carries important information related to the staging and prognosis of melanoma.
During the procedure, your doctor will inject a blue radioactive dye into the area around the tumor and use a special tool to identify the sentinel lymph nodes. Once located, they’ll make a small incision to remove the nodes.
After removal, the lymph nodes are sent to a pathologist for examination under a microscope. The pathologist will look for the presence of melanoma cells in the nodes.
You may experience side effects from the sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure, including:
- Numbness
- Pain
- Bruising
- A buildup of lymph fluid near the biopsy location
If the melanoma has spread, your doctor will probably recommend additional tests and treatment. It’s important to remember that the sentinel lymph node biopsy is just one tool used to determine the stage of melanoma.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Dr. Cecilia Larocca is a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Read More
