Everyday Health: Early-Stage Breast Cancer | Do You Really Need Your Lymph Nodes Removed?
Everyday Health recently interviewed breast cancer surgeon, clinician and researcher Armando Giuliano, MD, regional medical director of the Breast Oncology Program at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, about a recent study that found removing lymph nodes is unnecessary for many women with early-stage breast cancer who have had a lumpectomy followed by additional treatment.
Most breast cancer cases in the U.S. are considered to be early stage, meaning they’re diagnosed before the disease has spread beyond the breast and surrounding (axillary) lymph nodes.
Giuliano, co-director of the Saul and Joyce Brandman Breast Center—A Project of Women’s Guild at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, led earlier studies of sentinel lymph node biopsy, in which only a few lymph nodes closest to the breast (sentinel nodes) are removed and examined to determine if the disease has spread.
“We’ve proven that if the sentinel node is negative (no cancer), 99% of the time the cancer has not spread elsewhere in the body,” he told Everyday Health.
The new lymph node study, which did not involve Giuliano, found that it also was not necessary to remove a large number of axillary lymph nodes if the sentinel node biopsy indicated the cancer had spread.
Giuliano, who holds the Linda and Jim Lippman Chair in Surgical Oncology, told Everyday Health that breast cancer patients often are reluctant to remove axillary lymph nodes because it can cause complications.
“Some women get terrible arm swelling from lymphedema,” Giuliano said. “You can have shoulder problems, such as a limited range of motion, numbness and pain that can be chronic and persist long-term. These problems are very difficult to manage.”
He told Everyday Health that women with early-stage breast cancer who are advised by their physician to have axillary lymph nodes removed should pause and carefully consider the recommendation.
“Get a second opinion,” he said.
Click here to read the complete article from Everyday Health.