Knowledge of the location of the lymph nodes and the direction of lymph flow is important in the diagnosis and prognosis of the spread of cancer by metastasis. Cancer cells may travel via the lymphatic system and produce clusters of tumor cells where they lodge.
Such secondary tumor sites are predictable by the direction of lymph flow from the organ primarily involved.
(Cancer may also spread by extending locally or being carried by the cardiovascular system.)
Cancerous lymph nodes feel enlarged, firm and non tender. Most lymph nodes that undergo infectious enlargement, by contrast, are not firm and are very tender.
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