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Article: Surgeons study refinement of sentinel node biopsy.(breast cancer diagnosis)
- Article from:
- Cancer Weekly
- Article date:
- October 22, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 NewsRX. 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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2002 OCT 22 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Florida (UF) surgeons have simplified the way they identify which lymph node is reached first by breast cancer cells that escape from a tumor.
The refined approach improves the accuracy of sentinel node biopsy, an increasingly popular method of gauging whether the disease has spread.
Physicians using the technique, which involves injecting a radioactive tracer into sites above and adjacent to breast tumors, also could better tailor the way they deliver radiation because the approach identifies the small percentage of patients whose sentinel node is actually located in the chest, not the armpit.
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