Lymph Node Biopsy: What To Think About

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What To Think About

• Cancer that begins in the lymph nodes (lymphoma) is the most common form of cancer in teens and young adults. Even though most enlarged lymph nodes are not caused by lymphoma, it is important to have enlarged lymph nodes that do not go away checked by your doctor.
• Looking at a lymph node under a microscope does not always give a clear diagnosis. In these cases, other tests are needed to find the cause of the problem.
• If an infection is present, a culture of the lymph node may be done to find what is causing the infection.
• Sometimes a lymph node sample is treated with special markers (antibodies) that attach to abnormal cells. Marker studies may be done to find lymphomas and other types of cancer.
• Sentinel node biopsy may be done instead of surgery to remove the group of axillary lymph nodes (axillary lymph node dissection). A sentinel node is the first lymph node to which a certain cancer would travel. In some cases, there may be more than one sentinel node. Sentinel node biopsy takes out less tissue, and it does not cause as many problems with lymphedema.
  • Before a sentinel node biopsy is done, a special test is done to find which lymph nodes are involved. A radioactive tracer is put into the area where the cancer is found and a special camera takes pictures of the lymph nodes. A blue dye may also be used during a sentinel node biopsy. The first lymph nodes to show the tracer are the sentinel nodes. The dye may cause your skin to look blue or green for several days after the biopsy. It also makes your urine green for 24 hours.
  • The tissue with the sentinel nodes is removed and looked at under a microscope for cancer. If the sentinel nodes have cancer cells, a more extensive lymph node dissection is usually done to find out how far the cancer has spread.
• Some lymph node biopsies may be done using special tools in which a thin lighted tube is used to take out a lymph node:
  • Laparoscopy uses a lighted viewing scope (laparoscope) to look inside the belly and take a biopsy of lymph nodes. It may be done to find cancer that has spread in the belly. For more information, see the medical test Laparoscopy.
  • Mediastinoscopy uses a lighted viewing scope (mediastinoscope) to look inside the chest. The scope can be used to take out samples of lymph nodes in the chest to see if lung cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. For more information, see the medical test Mediastinoscopy.

Last updated:	May 01, 2007
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine, Brent Shoji, MD - General Surgery
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer