This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Axillary lymphatic metastasis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Axillary lymph nodes are the most important site for regional spread of breast cancer. The presence of metastasis is the single most important prognostic index of breast cancer - see submenu.

The larger the primary tumour, the greater is the risk of metastasis to axillary nodes:

  • primary less than 2cm diameter - incidence of spread is 15-20%
  • 2-5cm diameter - incidence 30-40%
  • >5cm diameter - incidence >45%

However, there are two practical problems:

  • clinical assessment of axillary nodes yields a high false positive and false negative rate
  • histological identification of nodes and tumour within nodes is highly operator-dependent

Related pages

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.