"Review suggests many men with early prostate cancer may not need lymph node removal."
"Doing so may help them avoid harmful side effects, such as disabling lymphedema.
But even more importantly, leaving the pelvic nodes intact might also boost the success of newer immune-based cancer drugs, the experts suspect.
The bottom line: "It is perhaps time to rethink whether lymph nodes are truly foes or friends in the oncologic management of prostate cancer," said senior study author Dr. Ash Tewari, chair of urology at Icahn Mount Sinai in New York City."