The latest adoption of a new investigational procedure, the sentinel node biopsy (SNB) on women with early-stage breast cancer by the Department of Oncology, Manipal Hospital has decreased unnecessary removal of lymph nodes among patients. Manipal is the first corporate hospital in the country to introduce the procedure which is a beneficial alternative to standard axillary node dissection (AND) that involves removal of all the lymph nodes in the armpit area and causes severe pain, arm swelling due to blockage of lymph flow. Sentinel node is purchased from the Europe based Euro Probe at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh.

The success rate of radio-guided process in localizing the sentinel lymph node in breast cancer surgery is about 94-97 per cent world wide and can achieve 99 when combined with the vital blue dye technique. "We shortly hopes to shortly introduce the novel blue dye t and decrease the morbidity of lymph node removal, Dr. R V Parameswaran, consultant and head Nuclear Medicine, Manipal Hospital told Pharmabiz.com.

The first lymph node that meets the sentinel node is most likely be the first affected with cancer and a negative sentinel node makes it highly unlikely that other nodes are affected. SND is a minimally invasive procedure where about 70 per cent of patients only need to remove the tumour and not the lymph nodes as cancer has not spread. Only 30 percent of the cases need to remove the entire lymph nodes as the cancer has spread.

The hospital is now on a massive awareness preventive oncology drive mainly because in Bangalore most frequent cancers among women is breast cancer which attributes to 21 per cent of all other cancers affecting the cervix, brain, liver, blood etc. In 2002-03, breast cancer cases in Bangalore was 591 out of the 4187 women affected with the disease, informed Dr. Shabber S Zaveri, surgical oncologist, Manipal Hospital.

Although Manipal Hospital is the only facility in Karnataka that offers comprehensive and the latest treatment modalities in oncology, there is considerable emphasis on preventive oncology, because cancers are painless in the early stages and even slight symptoms could result in the case being in the fatal stage of the disease.

"In the preventive cardiology programme, we pick up the cases even before a women can feel a tumour and abnormalities in mammogram usually result cancerous tumours. In early stages of cancer, chemotherapy and radiotherapy can control the disease or oncology surgeons recommend conservative surgery, which is only the removal of the lump. Awareness and attitude towards prevention must be inculcated among Indian women like that of the West which has been able to bring down the fatal cases, stated Dr. Mir Yousuf Ali, medical oncologist, Manipal Hospital.

In India the higher incidence of breast cancer is among the urban women and in rural women usually suffer from cancer of the cervix. Worldwide women are the largest victims of breast cancer although one percent of breast cancers affect men where the progression of disease is higher than women, said Dr. S P Somashekhar, surgical oncologist, Manipal Hospital.