Cancer patients could benefit from a new study which has revealed the possible benefits of lymph removal.
Published in Online First, the Japanese study looked at the rates of survival among cancer patients who had undergone the complete removal of both pelvic lymph nodes and para-aortic lymph nodes.
Carried out by Professor Noriaki Sakuragi and Dr Yukiharu Todo, from the department of gynaecology at Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, the study looked at over 600 women suffering from endometrial cancer, which affects the tissue which lines a woman's uterus.
Some of the women had undergone surgery to remove both sets of lymph nodes while others had only had their pelvic lymph nodes removed.
Those who had experienced the complete, systematic removal of both sets of lymph nodes demonstrated a substantially higher rate of survival.
The authors said that further trials were needed to establish the cost of the treatment in relation to the effect it had on a woman's quality of life and their chances of survival.
They added: "Only by consideration of such factors will a standard of care be identified for the surgical treatment of endometrial cancer. Such a standard is long overdue."
