Dec 26, 2005

Axillary Lymph Node Surgery Not Required In Some Older Patients

Aim of breast cancer surgery is to remove the breast tumor and remove any possible involvement of lymph nodes. Since lymph nodes in the axilla (arm -pit) is a very common site for cancer spread, breast cancer surgery often involves removal of axiallary lymph nodes as well.

There are two common methods for removal of axillary lymph nodes. A surgeon may initially do a sentinel lymph node biopsy and may proceed to clearing of the lymph nodes in the axilla only if the sentinel lymph node is positive. On the other hand your surgeon may proceed straight to axillary lymph node dissection without first doing a sentinel lymph node biopsy. In any case axillary clearance of lymph nodes is very important in patients suspected of axillary lymph node involvement.

While this is very important in younger women, the question is should we go for a complete axillary clearance for older patients. A recent study published in the Journal Of Clinical Oncology suggests this is un-necessary.

In this study of 473 patients who were aged more than 60 years, clinically node negative and received hormonal therapy for hormone positive tumor the investigators noted no difference between the groups who had axillary clearance and those who had extensive surgery.

Bottom line: If you are sixty years or older, and have no lymph nodes felt by physical examination, the tumor is hormone receptor positive and willing to take hormonal therapy then there is no need for that disfiguring surgery. No need for cherry picking of lymph nodes.

Sherin      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Breast cancer
Every year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. Breast cancer ranks second as the leading cause of cancer deaths in American women. Until recently breast cancer topped the list of leading causes of cancer deaths in women, but lately lung cancer has claimed the top position. If skin cancer is excluded, breast cancer is the commonest cancer among American women.