Cancer and lymph nodes: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (2024)

FAQs

What is the survival rate of cancer in the lymph nodes? ›

What is the survival rate when cancer spreads to the lymph nodes? This will depend on the type of cancer, the treatment available, and other factors. For people with breast cancer, the 5-year survival rate when cancer is only in the breast is 99% . If cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, the rate is 86%.

Cancer can also start in the lymph nodes. These are called lymphomas. "In general, cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes are typically stage 2 or 3," says Juan Santamaria, MD, Nebraska Medicine surgical oncologist. "Many of these cancers are still treatable and even curable at this stage.

Common symptoms of having lymphoma include swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, in your armpits or your groin. This is often but not always painless and often could be associated with fevers, or unexplained weight loss, or drenching night sweats, sometimes chills, persistent fatigue.

To metastasize, cancer cells break off from the primary tumor and travel through the blood or lymph to other organs. If someone is found to have cancer in their lymph nodes, it's usually a bad sign that the cancer has or will soon spread to other parts of the body. Most cancer deaths are caused by metastatic cancer.

More than 70 percent of people live longer than 5 years after their diagnosis. Your outlook depends on factors such as your overall health, age, and the type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma you have. Your healthcare team can give you the best idea of what to expect.

Other treatment options for cancer in the lymph nodes may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, a stem cell transplant, immunotherapy or targeted therapy. There's a higher risk for cancer to come back following surgery when a cancer has spread to lymph nodes.

Lymphadenectomy, or lymph node dissection, is an important step in staging and treating cancer. It gives your healthcare team crucial information about your condition and may stop cancer from spreading in the process.

On the other hand, if your doctor finds the cancer cells have traveled to lymph nodes far from the initial tumor, the cancer may be spreading at a faster rate and could be in a later stage. Additionally, it's important to know how many cancer cells have traveled to the respective lymph node.

The regional nodal basins of the central and lateral neck are the first site of lymph node metastasis in PTC. Furthermore, the most common metastatic area is the central compartment (level VI), sequentially followed by levels III, IV, II, and V (6, 7).

If the swollen lymph nodes are deep inside the chest or tummy (abdomen), you will not be able to see or feel them. But they may be visible on a CT scan. Often there are no symptoms of cancer. But sometimes swollen lymph nodes press on nearby organs or tissue.

How can doctors tell if a lymph node is cancerous? ›

Lymph nodes deep in the body cannot be felt or seen. So doctors may use scans or other imaging tests to look for enlarged nodes that are deep in the body. Often, enlarged lymph nodes near a cancer are assumed to contain cancer. The only way to know whether there is cancer in a lymph node is to do a biopsy.

Stage 4. Stage 4 is the most advanced stage of lymphoma. Lymphoma that has started in the lymph nodes and spread to at least one body organ outside the lymphatic system (for example, the lungs, liver, bone marrow or solid bones) is advanced lymphoma.

With lymphoma, the lymph nodes often grow slowly and may be there for months or years before they're noticed. But sometimes they grow very quickly. Usually, the swollen nodes don't hurt. But some people say their lumps ache or are painful.

Stages Don't Change

For example, if you're diagnosed with stage II lung cancer, that's what it will be called, whether it spreads or goes into remission. That's when cancer cells are gone. This is because your treatment options and chances of recovery usually are based on how early your cancer is found.

The overall 5-year relative survival rate for people with NHL is 74%. But it's important to keep in mind that survival rates can vary widely for different types and stages of lymphoma.

The goal of Hodgkin lymphoma treatment is to cure the disease. More than 80 percent of all patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma can be cured by current treatment approaches. The cure rate is higher, approaching 90 percent, in younger patients and those with early-stage favorable disease.

For this lymphoma, it is typical for lymph nodes to double in size every month, and patients often present within a few months of having noted an enlarged lymph node.