Comparison of Axillary Lymph Node Size in Cadavers With and Without a History of Breast Cancer

Axillary lymph nodes play a critical role in breast cancer metastasis and staging. While imaging and surgical studies provide indirect assessments of nodal involvement, few investigations have directly compared lymph node size in breast cancer and non-cancer populations using cadaveric dissection. In this study, twenty-nine female cadavers, including eight with a history of breast cancer and twenty-one controls, were dissected to collect axillary lymph nodes from six anatomical chains: central, humeral, infraclavicular, parasternal, pectoral, and subscapular. Lymph node area (mm²) was measured, and statistical outliers (z ≥ 3) were excluded from analysis. Welch’s t-test was performed to compare overall lymph node size between groups, and a two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) evaluated the effects of group, nodal location, and their interaction on node area, with statistical significance set at α = 0.05. Lymph node area was significantly greater in the breast cancer group compared to controls, with a mean difference of 56.7 mm² (p < 0.001). All nodal chains demonstrated significant group-level differences. The two-factor ANOVA revealed significant main effects of group (p < 0.001) and nodal location (p = 0.014), while the group × location interaction was not statistically significant (p = 0.103), suggesting a pattern of generalized enlargement across chains rather than chain-specific effects. These findings provide cadaveric evidence of axillary lymph node enlargement in individuals with a history of breast cancer, reinforcing the importance of lymphatic involvement in disease progression. This anatomical characterization may have implications for surgical planning and anatomical education by clarifying which nodal chains demonstrate measurable enlargement. Further research incorporating histologic confirmation and evaluation of additional nodal chains or cancer subtypes is warranted to better define the structural and pathological correlates of these findings.