Impact of preoperative lymphatic chemotherapy on postoperative local complications in operable breast cancer

Objective To evaluate the impact of the preoperative lymphatic chemotherapy by injecting nano carbon absorbing chemotherapeutic drugs (NCACD)on local and early stage complications for breast cancer patients after surgery. Methods 125 operable breast cancer patients without history of axillary dissection or radiotherapy for chest or breast were selected, and they were divided into three groups: 22 patients in CNT group (selecting 4-6 injection sites at residual cavity of biopsy and subcutaneous tissue of areola and injecting 1 ml nano carbon suspension (NC) at 0.5-6.0 h before surgery, then pressing these sites gently for 3-5 minutes), 73 patients in LC group (injecting NCACD which mixed 5 mg/0.5 ml doxorubicin into 1 ml NC, then shaking quickly for about 20 minutes at 24-72 h before surgery, using the same injection site and method as in CNT group), and 30 patients in N-T group (without using any tracer such as NC or methylene blue). Preoperative pain, local skin necrosis, postoperative skin flap necrosis, delayed wound healing, postoperative infection and chest wall edema, drainage time and drainage volume were recorded. Results No preoperative pain, delayed wound healing, incision infection or skin swelling was observed in any of the three groups. No preoperative or postoperative skin flap necrosis occured in LC or CNT group while one patient had a little skin flap necrosis in N-T group. There was no significant difference in drainage time or drainage volume among the three groups. Conclusion Preoperative lymphatic chemotherapy for breast cancer patients will not lead to a higher incidence of local complications such as pain, flap necrosis, delayed wound healing or chest edema, thus it can be widely used in clinical treatment. Key words: Breast neoplasms; Lymphatic chemotherapy; Nano carbon; Carbon Nanoparticle; Activatid Carbon