October 08, 2007

Genesis To Webcast Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy

DAVENPORT, Iowa – When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, doctors must determine the extent to which the disease has spread.  Answers lie in the lymph nodes under the arm.

The presence of cancer in the first lymph node, the sentinel lymph node, helps sound the warning that the cancer has spread.  With an important procedure called a Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy, doctors can determine the best treatment and gain information that ultimately may reduce the amount of surgery needed.

Genesis, through its Center for Breast Health, was one of the first hospitals in the country to participate in a study of the effectiveness of sentinel lymph node biopsy, which now is an accepted standard of care for women diagnosed with breast cancer.  The procedure also has fewer side effects than a standard, more-invasive lymph node removal.

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10, an Internet webcast of a sentinel lymph node biopsy will be available on the home page of the award-winning Genesis Internet site, www.genesishealth.com. Click on “Watch A Surgery’’ in the rotating ad box to view the webcast.

David Aanestad, M.D., Davenport Surgical Group, who is clinical medical director of the Genesis Center for Breast Health will perform the procedure.   Joseph Lohmuller, M.D., Davenport Surgical Group, will moderate the webcast. 

Dr. Aanestad will be available to answer questions during an online forum
following the webcast.

Genesis is the only hospital in the region and one of about 40 hospitals across the nation working with Internet health care broadcaster slp3D of Connecticut as it pioneers a unique reality programming called OR-Live.  The Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy webcast will be the fourth for Genesis.

Pea-sized lymph nodes are part of the body’s lymphatic system – a series of small channels that drain excess fluid from all the tissues of the body back into the bloodstream.  As the fluid drains, it passes through the lymph nodes, which act as biologic filters, trapping bacteria, cancer cells or other cellular debris.  The nodes then facilitate an immune system response to trapped particles.
 
Lymphatic fluid from the breast drains predominantly into lymph nodes located in the axilla, the area under the arm.  In general, the fluid travels through lymph nodes in a step-wise fashion, so nodes located in an “upstream” position are the first to “see” the fluid as it leaves the breast.

“The sentinel lymph nodes located in the underarm are the first nodes to receive lymph drainage from the breast and the most likely nodes to contain cancer cells from a breast tumor if cancer has spread form the primary tumor,” said Dr. Aanestad.  “During a sentinel lymph node biopsy, an average of one to three sentinel lymph nodes is identified.  If the sentinel lymph nodes do not contain cancer, there is a greater than 95 percent chance that the remaining axillary lymph nodes are also cancer-free.”

The procedure provides a faster and accurate assessment of whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.

“The sentinel lymph node biopsy came about because surgeons were looking for a less-invasive technique to accomplish the same thing that the full axillary node dissection was accomplishing – but with fewer side effects,” Dr. Aanestad said.

The Center for Breast Health team approach uses the combined resources of primary care physicians, radiologists, pathologists, surgeons, oncologists, psychologists, nurses, mammography technologists and others to provide specialized care for women with abnormal mammogram findings.

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