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Current Thoracic Surgery 2025 , Vol 10 , Issue 1
Clinical and diagnostic significance of supraclavicular lymph node biopsy
Merve Bıyıklı1,Murat Kılıç1
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center, Malatya, Turkey DOI : 10.26663/cts.2025.002 Viewed : 27 - Downloaded : 13 Background: Lymphadenopathy occurs due to the proliferation of inflammatory or neoplastic cells within the lymph node or the invasion of the lymph node. Surgical biopsy of supraclavicular lymph nodes in patients with suspected malignancy or lymphadenopathy serves as a valuable tool for determining the treatment plan and cell type. Today, supraclavicular lymph node excision holds an important place in tissue sampling as it is a minimally invasive procedure associated with low morbidity and acceptable diagnostic yield. Moreover, these minimally invasive procedures can be more advantageous as they provide more tissue compared to needle biopsy, with fewer complications.

Materials and Methods: In this study, we reviewed our experience with supraclavicular excisional lymph node biopsy in patients suspected of having supraclavicular lymph node metastasis. Detailed medical histories were obtained for all cases, and comprehensive general physical and systemic examinations were performed.

Results: The aim of the study is to evaluate the diagnostic utility, accuracy, and impact on survival of excisional lymph node biopsy in the diagnosis of suspected supraclavicular lymph node metastasis based on histopathological findings. We conclude that excisional biopsy is valuable for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment planning when supraclavicular lymph nodes are detected in radiological examinations, even if they are not palpable.

Conclusions: Excisional biopsy is a method that can be safely performed in palpable peripheral lymphadenopathies and does not carry a significant risk of morbidity. It is believed that excisional biopsy of the supraclavicular lymph node has the potential to shorten the time from presentation to diagnosis, thereby saving time and costs in the invasive staging process. Keywords : supraclavicular, lymph node, excisional biopsy, metastasis