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How Much of the Axilla Should Be Dissected?

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Non-Disseminated Breast Cancer

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Radiat Oncol))

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Abstract

The spread of breast cancer from the primary tumor in the breast to regional lymph nodes is an indication of the capacity of cancer cells to implant and grow, as well as a comment on the host-tumor relationship; it also is a potential source of morbidity. Despite the clear impact of axillary nodal metastases on prognosis, there is no evidence that axillary treatments significantly affect survival. Al- though the possibility of a small therapeutic benefit cannot be excluded by the studies to date, the primary benefits of removing axillary lymph nodes are to gather information on Staging and to prevent complications arising from uncontrolled tumor growth in the axilla. Information on axillary Staging is vital when the axillary node status is a major determinant of the use of systemic therapy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA, USA

    Robert T. Osteen M.D. (Associate Professor)

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  1. Robert T. Osteen M.D.
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiotherapy, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, 77030, Houston, TX, USA

    Gilbert H. Fletcher M.D. (Professor) (Professor)

  2. Department of Therapeutic Radiology - Radiation Oncology, University of Minnesota, UMHC Harvard Street at East River Parkway, Box 494, 55455-0110, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Seymour H. Levitt M.D. (Head and Professor) (Head and Professor)

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© 1993 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Osteen, R.T. (1993). How Much of the Axilla Should Be Dissected?. In: Fletcher, G.H., Levitt, S.H. (eds) Non-Disseminated Breast Cancer. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84593-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84593-2_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-84595-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-84593-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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