Lymph node sampling techniquesDownloads

A 62-year-old woman presents to her physician with a painless breast mass on her left breast for the past 4 months. She mentions that she noticed the swelling suddenly one day and thought it would resolve by itself. Instead, it has been slowly increasing in size. On physical examination of the breasts, the physician notes a single non-tender, hard, and fixed nodule over left breast. An ultrasonogram of the breast shows a solid mass, and a fine-needle aspiration biopsy confirms the mass to be lobular carcinoma of the breast. When the patient asks about her prognosis, the physician says that the prognosis can be best determined after both grading and staging of the tumor. Based on the current diagnostic information, the physician says that they can only grade, but no stage, the neoplasm. Which of the following facts about the neoplasm is currently available to the physician?

A 59-year-old woman presents to her primary care provider with a 6-month history of progressive left-arm swelling. Two years ago she had a partial mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection for left breast cancer. She was also treated with radiotherapy at the time. Upon further questioning, she denies fever, pain, or skin changes, but reports difficulty with daily tasks because her hand feels heavy and weak. She is bothered by the appearance of her enlarged extremity and has stopped playing tennis. On physical examination, nonpitting edema of the left arm is noted with hyperkeratosis, papillomatosis, and induration of the skin. Limb elevation, exercise, and static compression bandaging are started. If the patient has no improvement, which of the following will be the best next step?