Table 1 Tumor volume for spherical metastatic foci

From: Pathology evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer: protocol recommendations and rationale

Number of cells or clusters

Cell diameter (mm)

Cluster diameter (mm)

Volume (mm3)a

1 cell

0.02

—

0.0000042

1000 cells

0.02

—

0.004188

1 000 000 cells

0.02

—

4.188

1 cluster (ITC)

—

0.2

0.004188

1000 clusters (1000 ITCs)

—

0.2

4.188

8000 clusters

—

0.1

4.188

1 micrometastasis

—

2.0

4.188

  1. aVolume calculations assume a spherical metastasis in three dimensions and a circular metastasis in the plane of section. An ellipsoid metastasis occupies half the volume of a spherical metastasis; for example, a 2 mm × 2 mm spherical micrometastasis has a volume of 4.2 mm3 and a 2 mm × 1 mm ellipsoid micrometastasis has a volume of 2.1 mm3.
Back to article page