Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Oct;13(5):342-347.
doi: 10.1159/000492435. Epub 2018 Sep 25.

Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer - What Can We Learn from Translational Research?

Florentia Peintinger  1   2 , Roland Reitsamer  3 , Marjolein L Smidt  4 , Thorsten Kühn  5 , Cornelia Liedtke  6
Affiliations
Review

Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer - What Can We Learn from Translational Research?

Florentia Peintinger et al. Breast Care (Basel). 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Clinical observations about lack of survival benefit after extensive axillary surgery and biological discordance between primary breast tumors and axillary lymph nodes raise the question of the actual metastatic potential of axillary nodal disease. The exploration of intratumoral heterogeneity and detection of genomic differences between the primary and lymph nodes indicate some similarity between the number of mutations in synchronous axillary node metastases and those in the primary lesion, suggesting a favorable prognosis. The hematogenous route of metastasis needs to be considered in findings of different subclones between nodal and distant metastases. Modern tools such as whole-genome sequencing applied in multiple tumor areas may guide more precisely the extent of axillary surgery.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Genomics; Lymph node.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prediction test development.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Design of the SENTINA trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Saez RA, McGuire WL, Clark GM. Prognostic factors in breast cancer. Semin Surg Oncol. 1989;5:102–110. - PubMed
    1. Bromham N, Schmidt-Hansen M, Astin M, Hasler E, Reed MW. Axillary treatment for operable primary breast cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017;1:CD004561. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zavagno G, De Salvo GL, Scalco G, Bozza F, Barutta L, Del Bianco P, Renier M, Racano C, Carraro P, Nitti D, GIVOM Trialists A randomized clinical trial on sentinel lymph node biopsy versus axillary lymph node dissection in breast cancer: results of the Sentinella/GIVOM trial. Ann Surg. 2008;247:207–213. - PubMed
    1. Veronesi U, Viale G, Paganelli G, Zurrida S, Luini A, Galimberti V, Veronesi P, Intra M, Maisonneuve P, Zucca F, Gatti G, Mazzarol G, De Cicco C, Vezzoli D. Sentinel lymph node biopsy in breast cancer: ten-year results of a randomized controlled study. Ann Surg. 2010;251:595–600. - PubMed
    1. Krag DN, Anderson SJ, Julian TB, Brown AM, Harlow SP, Costantino JP, Ashikaga T, Weaver DL, Mamounas EP, Jalovec LM, Frazier TG, Noyes RD, Robidoux A, Scarth HM, Wolmark N. Sentinel-lymph-node resection compared with conventional axillary-lymph-node dissection in clinically node-negative patients with breast cancer: overall survival findings from the NSABP B-32 randomized phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2010;11:927–933. - PMC - PubMed