The presence of lymph node metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors, and its determination is an essential part of tumor staging.
Before treatment, CT, MRI, ultrasound, and PET are the most common noninvasive techniques used for pre-treatment cancer staging.
The sensitivity for evaluation of early or micrometastases and small lymph nodes measuring list in 7 to 10 mm is low.
The gold standard for evaluation of lymph node metastasis is the pathological evaluation of resected nodal specimens on the basis of histopathological evaluation of the nodal specimens on pathology slides, stained with hematoxylin, and eosin.
MRI and CT scans to evaluate lymph node metastases in the pelvis have low sensitivity of 0-30% for both bladder and prostate cancers.
Most important prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer.
Suspicious breast cancer lymph nodes are often detected on clinical breast exam, mammography, or ultrasonography.
Often when cancer cells spread the first place they travel is the lymph node that drains the site of the primary tumor.
Evidence exists that shows cancer cells that first spread to lymph nodes can invade blood vessels perfusing the node to become a source of tumors that grow in distant organs (Padera T).