Is Axillary Dissection Necessary for Breast Cancer in OldWomen? A Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials

Abstract

<b>Background:</b> We performed this meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness and safety of axillary dissection inold women. <br/><b>Methods</b>: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE and Chinese Biomedical Literature Databasewere searched and all randomized controlled trials of axillary dissection in old women (at least 60 years old)were considered. Meta-analyses were completed using RevMan5.1. <br/><b>Results</b>: Three eligible randomized controlledtrials (RCTs) including 5,337 patients were considered. There was weak evidence in favour of axillary dissection(AD) in old women. The meta-analysis showed that the overall survival (OS) after 1, 3, 5 and 7 years and thedisease free survival (DFS) after 1, 3 and 5 year were not statistically significantly different between AD and noAD groups. However, there was a difference in the 7 year DFS. <br/><b>Conclusions</b>: Axillary dissection did not providesurvival benefit to the old women with breast cancer analysed. Therefore, axillary dissection is not well-indicatedin old women with breast cancer.