Micrometastases are often without symptoms and hard to detect because of their small size.
Adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiation therapy are the most common treatment options.
What Are Micrometastases in Breast Cancer?
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This is known as a lymph node biopsy.
Micrometastases are cancer cells that measure between 0.2 millimeters (mm) and 2 millimeters in diameter.
When cancer spreads from tumors, it often spreads to lymph nodes in a predictable pattern.
The dye can help healthcare providers see that pattern and identify where to look for micrometastases.
Research is ongoing to determine the significance of micrometastases in the sentinel node.
The only way to identify them is through microscopic testing.
What is the survival rate when cancer spreads to lymph nodes?
For breast cancer that has spread to lymph nodes, the five-year survival rate is 86%.
Which treatment youll need depends on where the metastases are believed to be.
Your healthcare provider may recommend both chemotherapy and radiation, as well.
Therefore, its important to be aggressive with treatment.
How do you treat micrometastases in lymph nodes?
The pop in of treatment will depend on the characteristics of the cancer.
Treatment options include radiation, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and anti-HER2 medicine.
Summary
Micrometastasesare microscopic cancer cells that have escaped from the original tumor.
These cells can be too small to see on imaging tests.
A procedure called a sentinel node biopsy can help healthcare providers know where to look for micrometastases.
They can be treated with chemotherapy or radiation.
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