Blood flow obstruction: Cancer cells impair blood flow in metastatic lymph nodes

If not detected quickly, cancer cells usually spread to other organs, a process called metastasis

The most reliable sign of early non-enlarged lymph node metastasis is a defect in perfusion (blood passing through the lymphatic system), which can be detected by CT scan, MRI and ultrasound imaging equipment

Now, Professor Tetsuya Kodama of the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering at Tohoku University in Japan and his research team have discovered that the lack of small blood vessels in tumors may be the cause of impaired perfusion of unexpanded early metastatic lymph nodes

In order to make a breakthrough, the research team injected cancer cells into mice with a size similar to humans (about 10 mm)

Kodama said: "We found that tumors that form with few microvessels are related to perfusion defects

Their research also emphasizes the importance of improving the spatial and density resolution of diagnostic imaging equipment to better improve the diagnosis and detection of LN metastasis, thereby reducing cancer-related mortality

DOI

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