Removal of lymph nodes

Professor Rod Dunbar (University of Auckland) discusses the removal of lymph nodes as part of melanoma treatment. He explains why it is important to know which lymph nodes are likely to be the first ones affected.

The removal of lymph nodes is one of several different treatments that contribute to the high costs of treating skin cancers in New Zealand.

Transcript

Professor Rod Dunbar
As part of therapy for melanoma, it is very common for patients to have the lymph nodes where melanoma has spread to removed.

Obviously, for the sake of the patients, you would want to do that as soon as possible because the fewer cells that are there, the more likely you are to be cured and not have further therapy.

And so it has become very important to try and figure out which lymph nodes are the first lymph nodes that the melanoma cells would go to if they left the skin.

Acknowledgements
Professor Rod Dunbar
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