TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 8 Israeli researchers have developed an imaging aid that can identify the sentinel node in obese women with breast cancer.Lymphoscintigraphy, a commonly performed nuclear medicine procedure that makes the lymphatic system visible to specialized cameras, used with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) imaging -- boosted sentinel node identification not only for the general population but also for those who were overweight.The addition of SPECT/CT with lymphoscintigraphy enhanced sentinel node identification in overweight patients with breast cancer, said Hedva Lerman of the Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel. Failure to identify sentinel nodes is more frequent in overweight or obese patients, and improved techniques are needed to guide surgeons to their location.While the identification of the sentinel node is an important part of surgical management approaches in breast cancer, obesity is a significant factor in why it fails and inevitably leads to occasional -- and unnecessary -- full axillary lymph node dissection -- a more complex surgery that removes all lymph nodes in the armpit region, according to the study published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.Copyright 2007 by UPI
