Half of U.S. Breast Surgeons may Advise Unneeded Lymph Node Removal

By Reuters / Lisa Rapaport

For women with early-stage breast cancer, many surgeons would advise extensive removal of the lymph nodes under the armpits even though recent evidence shows this doesn’t improve survival or the odds of cancer recurring, a U.S. study found.

Nearly half of breast cancer surgeons surveyed said they would recommend the procedure, known as axillary node dissection, despite modern guidelines that recommend against it.

NPR: Breast Cancer in the Developing World: Rising Rates, Shrouded in Silence

By Marc Silver

A woman finds a lump in her breast.

And for a long time, she doesn't tell anybody. Not her family. And not her doctor.

That happens all too often in low- and lower-middle-income countries, says Dr. Ben Anderson, a surgical oncologist who is the director of the Breast Health Global Initiative at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.