What are surgical margins?
After a tumor is removed, the tissue is sent to a pathology laboratory. A pathologist examines the specimen to determine the type of tumor, its characteristics, and whether cancer cells are present at the edges of the removed tissue.
A negative margin means that cancer cells are not identified at the examined cut edges. This is generally a favorable finding because it suggests that the tumor was removed without cancer reaching those margins.
A positive margin means cancer cells are present at an edge of the specimen, which may indicate that some disease remains in the body. The next steps depend on the circumstances and may involve further surgery or other treatment.
Negative margins are important, but they do not independently prove that cancer cannot return. Microscopic disease may exist elsewhere, and the overall risk of recurrence depends on multiple factors.
Why lymph nodes matter
Lymph nodes are small structures that form part of the immune system. Cancer cells from some tumors can spread through lymphatic channels to nearby nodes and, in some cases, to distant organs.
