I recently was diagnosed with breast cancer. My doctor wants me to have a sentinel node biopsy. What is this?

Most women treated for breast cancer will have some of the lymph nodes under the arm removed. The underarm lymph nodes are small organs that drain lymph fluid from the chest and arm. They are removed to check whether the cancer has spread outside the breast. The doctor needs this information to plan treatment.

Removal of the lymph nodes often leads to a troubling condition called lymphedema. Symptoms include swelling of the arm, numbness, a steady burning feeling, infection, and limited movement in the shoulder. Although there is no cure for lymphedema, it can be prevented or controlled.

Sentinel node biopsy is a new way that some doctors are using to check whether the cancer has spread outside the breast. In this procedure, the doctor injects a blue dye or a small amount of radioactive material (or both) around the breast tumor. Next, a doctor makes a small cut in the underarm area to look for a lymph node containing the dye or uses a scanner to find the radioactive material. The lymph node that the dye or radioactive material first reaches after leaving the tumor area is called the sentinel node. There may be more than one sentinel node.

The sentinel node(s) is surgically removed and studied under a microscope to check for cancer. If it contains cancer, the rest of the nodes are usually removed. If it does not show cancer, the remaining lymph nodes may not have to be removed

This procedure is under study in two large research studies sponsored by the National Cancer Institute. For more information, call the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4- CANCER.

choose back button for more from this category, or below for CIS index