A team of researchers from Cancer Research UK has published the most thorough results to date on sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB). The results, appearing in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that the technique leads to significantly fewer side effects.

The new technique involves removing two or three lymph glands from the armpit and testing them for cancer cells. The procedure is designed to tell surgeons whether or not removing the remaining lymph glands - known as axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) - is necessary.

A number of studies have already shown that SLNB is effective at picking up cancer cells in the armpit, and have indicated that it can reduce certain side effects. This is the first randomized controlled trial to yield such detailed data on the technique's impact on side effects.

A total of 298 patients with early breast cancer from Addenbrooke's, West Suffolk and King's Lynn Hospitals took part in the trial, half of whom had standard surgery and half were treated with the new technique.

The researchers measured in detail both physical side effects and psychological wellbeing in both groups of women during the year after their operation. Incidence of lymphedema - a chronic swelling of the arm - was 70 percent lower in the SLNB group than in the ALND group.

Women who had the new technique were also 60 percent less likely to experience paraesthesia, an abnormal feeling of numbness, tingling, prickling or burning in the arm that affects between 70 and 80 percent of patients who have standard treatment. Quality of life and psychological wellbeing were both significantly better in the SLNB group.

SOURCES:
Journal of Clinical Oncology, July 1, 2005
Cancer Research UK (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org)