title: The diagnostic value of biopsy of small peripheral lymph nodes in patients with suspected lymphoma.
abstract: In a patient with suspected lymphoma, it is considered desirable to confirm the diagnosis by excisional biopsy of enlarged lymph nodes. However, sometimes the ideal nodes are positioned internally, requiring a deep invasive procedure for access, or the patient may have underlying medical conditions that make it risky to perform such an invasive procedure. Under a protocol approved by our institution's review board (IRB), we reviewed five patients in whom superficial lymph nodes were biopsied which were smaller than usually considered optimal for diagnosis (=2 cm). In each of these cases, the biopsy yielded diagnostic information upon which treatment could be based, sparing the patient a deep invasive procedure. We suggest that in situations in which large internal lymph nodes are not easily accessible and/or the patient's clinical situation precludes more invasive procedures, including deep core needle biopsy of a large mass, it is worthwhile to consider the removal of smaller, superficial lymph nodes with minimal risk which may suffice for diagnosis.
authors: Department of Pathology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Beverly.Baron@uchospitals.edu
authors: Beverly W
authors: BW
authors: Baron
authors: Joseph M
authors: JM
authors: Baron
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size