A new type of breast cancer surgery can reduce side effects reported the Daily Mail . The article reports on a trial investigating if a technique that removes fewer lymph nodes reduces side effects, in women undergoing surgery for early breast cancer. The research is reported correctly but only mentions one of the trial’s outcomes.
The Daily Mail (1) reported that a new biopsy technique of removing only key lymph nodes to assess the spread of breast cancer can reduce physical and psychological side effects, compared with the usual technique of removing most of the lymph nodes. They reported that women receiving the new technique were 70% less likely to experience chronic swelling of the arm.
The article is based on the findings of a randomised controlled trial conducted in the UK (2). Almost 300 women undergoing surgery for early stage breast cancer were randomised to receive either sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). During the 12 month follow-up period, the SLNB group experienced less arm swelling, as assessed by arm volume measurements and patient perception of swelling. The trial was reasonably well-conducted although the author’s overall conclusion was strongly stated, given that only some of the outcomes differed significantly between the groups.
The newspaper article accurately reported one finding from the research. The headline implies that pain was also reduced, though this was not assessed in the trial. No data were available from the trial on the risk of missing cancer spread with SLNB therefore it is not possible to compare any benefits in physical outcome against standard treatment outcomes.
