Lymph Node Dissection AFTER primary treatment...A Novel Idea...WHY????

After reading the attached article on URO TODAY, titled "AUA 2013 - Session Highlights: Utility of salvage lymph node dissection in men with recurrent prostate cancer following local therapy," I cannot wonder why this has never been tried before. Certainly for many other cancers, lymph node dissection is part and parcel of most therapies. In PCa, one has to believe that in some cases, eliminating the harbor of cancer cells waiting to invade the body, en masse, will logically result in many positive consequences. I understand that lymph node dissection is painful but it may be worth it for those who it may perceivably benefit.

The link below may not open directly to the article. You may have to register for Uro Today. Howver it is a worthwhile treasure of articles and is updated daily. I did not paste the entire article as I am not certain it is allowed. When registering, if you are not in the health field, just check other; registration is free and open to everyone (although for a time they had charged fees and then discontinued that practice).

Regards to all!

Joe From Pittsburgh

http://www.urotoday.com/Prostate-Cancer/aua-2013-session-highlights-utility-of-salvage-lymph-node-dissection-in-men-with-recurrent-prostate-cancer-following-local-therapy.html?acm=20477_864

"All patients had evidence of biochemical recurrence (BCR) after RP associated with nodal recurrence detected on either (11C) choline PET/CT scan or with conventional imaging."

I do not know if whether just the nodes detected by scans/imaging were dissected or if a broader dissection (all nearby nodes) was performed. My thought is they dissected what they could get (all nodes possible in the area), just as they do for other cancers.