Raman spectroscopy--a potential new method for the intra-operative assessment of axillary lymph nodes.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy has become the standard surgical procedure for the sampling of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer. Intra-operative node assessment of these nodes would allow definitive axillary surgery to take place immediately with associated benefits for patient management. Our experimental study aims to demonstrate that a Raman spectroscopy probe system could overcome many of the disadvantages of current intra-operative methods.