Less Invasive Breast Cancer Surgery Equally Effective, Study Shows

Women with early breast cancer who had some of their lymph nodes removed had the same survival rates as women who had a more aggressive surgery to remove all of their lymph nodes, according to new study published in the journal Lancet Oncology, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The study is the largest trial to date to compare the two procedures.

Removing all of the lymph nodes, as doctors often elect to do, requires an invasive surgery called an axillary-lymph node dissection, which can cause nerve damage or reduced mobility in the arms and shoulders, according to the AP/Journal-Constitution. Doctors previously believed this was the best way to ensure the cancer does not return because if the disease spreads, it usually goes to nearby lymph nodes first. Another type of surgery involves only removing the first set of lymph nodes, called sentinel lymph nodes, under the arm.

In the study -- funded by the U.S. Public Health Service, the National Cancer Institute and HHS -- 5,611 women with early breast cancer that had not spread to the lymph nodes were divided into two groups: half received both surgeries and the other half received operations to remove only some of their lymph nodes. Most patients also received other treatments, such as radiotherapy.

Both groups were monitored for eight years, after which doctors found little or no difference in patients' survival rates. Among the 1,975 women who received both surgeries, 1,660 were alive eight years later, as were 1,675 out of the 2,011 who had a few lymph nodes removed (Cheng, AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/20).

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