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Article: Mapping lymph nodes hailed as technique that could improve breast cancer surgery.(NEWS)
- Article from:
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
- Article date:
- March 19, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Star Tribune Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Cancer surgeons from the University of Minnesota and Park Nicollet Clinic are testing a technique that could save tens of thousands of women from the painful and crippling effects of having lymph nodes removed unnecessarily during breast cancer surgery.
The lymph nodes in the armpit are routinely removed in the vast majority of breast cancer patients because it is the only way to determine if the cancer has spread. But cancer spreads in only about half the cases. If the new technique, called lymphatic mapping, is proven successful, doctors could determine if cancer has spread without removing all the lymph nodes.
So far, Dr. John Delaney at the ...