Resumen
In the past, breast cancer patients with lymph node involvement often had surgery to remove most or all of the lymph nodes in the armpit, which can cause significant side effects. However, recent research, like the ACOSOG Z0011 study, has shown that for patients with only a few affected lymph nodes who are getting breast-conserving treatment and radiation treatment, this extensive surgery might not be necessary and doesn?t affect their chances of survival. This study looked at whether the same applies to patients having a total mastectomy. We analyzed several studies involving over 4000 patients and found that skipping the extensive lymph node surgery didn?t impact overall survival after about 7 years of follow-up. This suggests that certain breast cancer patients having mastectomy with limited lymph node involvement, can safely avoid the more invasive surgery for the lymph nodes in armpit. However, more research is needed to fully understand how other factors might affect survival.