Cancer cells spread during surgery

01 January 1996

Breast cancer tumours can spread during surgery, doctors have discovered.

Surgeons who operated on 16 women found that six had more cancer cells circulating during the procedure. They discovered a link between cell shedding and the density of the tumour.

One woman with the densest tumour had the greatest number of cells circulating during the operation, surgeons at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital discovered (The Lancet, November 18, 1995).

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