Yes
This spread of cancer to a new part of the body is called metastasis. In order for cancer cells to spread to new parts of the body, they have to go through several changes. They first have to become able to break away from the original tumor and then attach to the outside wall of a lymph vessel or blood vessel. Treatment of cancer is based on the type of cancer a person has, and the stage of the cancer. Doctors use a system to assign a stage to the cancer. The most common staging system is the TNM system. The T in TNM stands for tumor, the M stands for metastasis, and the N stands for lymph nodes. A sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a procedure in which the sentinel lymph node is identified, removed, and examined to determine whether cancer cells are present. A negative SLNB result suggests that cancer has not developed the ability to spread to nearby lymph nodes or other organs. A positive SLNB result indicates that cancer is present in the sentinel lymph node and may be present in other nearby lymph nodes (called regional lymph nodes) and, possibly, other organs. When cancer cells break away from a tumor, they can travel to other areas of the body through either the bloodstream or the lymph system. Cancer cells can travel through the bloodstream to reach distant organs. If they travel through the lymph system, the cancer cells may end up in lymph nodes. Treatment of cancer is based on the type of cancer a person has, and the stage of the cancer. Doctors use a system to assign a stage to the cancer. The most common staging system is the TNM system. The T in TNM stands for tumor, the M stands for metastasis, and the N stands for Under the microscope, any cancer cells in the nodes look like the cancer cells from the primary tumor. For instance, when breast cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, the cells in the nodes look like breast cancer cells. The pathologist prepares a report, which details what was found. Treatment of cancer is based on the type of cancer a person has, and the stage of the cancer. Doctors use a system to assign a stage to the cancer. The most common staging system is the TNM system. The T in TNM stands for tumor, the M stands for metastasis, and the N stands for lymph nodes. This is one of the many fuzzy areas of breast cancer treatment. If any lymph nodes are involved, doctors can be fairly certain that the cancer has spread. In about 20% to 30% of cases in which no lymph nodes are found with cancer cells, however, the cancer also will have spread. Although removing lymph nodes may be important in order to stage a tumor, lymph nodes also are important to health.  Removal of one lymph node is called a biopsy. When many lymph nodes are removed, it’s called lymph node sampling or lymph node dissection. When cancer has spread to lymph nodes, there’s a higher risk that the cancer might come back after surgery. Treatment of cancer is based on the type of cancer a person has, and the stage of the cancer. Doctors use a system to assign a stage to the cancer. The most common staging system is the TNM system. The T in TNM stands for tumor, the M stands for metastasis, and the N stands for lymph nodes. If cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes, treatment such as chemotherapy may be suggested. This is because if a primary cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes, it increases the risk that the cancer may have spread to other parts of the body (even if those nodes have been removed). When cancer spreads to lymph nodes, the cancer cells in the nodes will look like cells from the primary tumour when they’re examined under the microscope. For example, when a lung cancer | has spread to the lymph nodes, the cells in the lymph nodes look like lung cancer cells. This affects the way they are treated Lymph nodes are small clumps of immune cells that act as filters for the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system runs throughout the body (like the circulatory (blood) system) and carries fluid and cells. The lymph nodes in the underarm (the axillary lymph nodes) are the first place breast cancer is likely to spread. Figure 4.4 shows the location of the axillary lymph nodes. Cancer found only in the breast (lymph node-negative) has the best prognosis. Prognosis is poorer when cancer has spread to the lymph nodes (lymph node-positive). The more lymph nodes that contain cancer, the poorer prognosis tends to be [ 6 ]. For a summary of research studies on lymph node status and breast cancer survival, visit the Breast Cancer Research section
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/lymph-nodes-and-cancer http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/staging/sentinel-node-biopsy-fact-sheet http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/lymph-nodes-and-cancer http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/lymph-nodes-and-cancer http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy895 http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/lymph-nodes-and-cancer http://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancerinformation/cancertypes/lymphnodessecondary/secondarycancerlymphnodes.aspx http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/LymphNodeStatus.html
are lymph nodes always involved in tumor spread