Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer - What Can We Learn from Translational Research

Clinical observations about lack of survival benefit after extensive axillary surgery and biological discordance between primary breast tumors and axillary lymph nodes raise the question of the actual metastatic potential of axillary nodal disease. The exploration of intratumoral heterogeneity and detection of genomic differences between the primary and lymph nodes indicate some similarity between the number of mutations in synchronous axillary node metastases and those in the primary lesion, suggesting a favorable prognosis. The hematogenous route of metastasis needs to be considered in findings of different subclones between nodal and distant metastases. Modern tools such as whole-genome sequencing applied in multiple tumor areas may guide more precisely the extent of axillary surgery.