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Brief description/objective

The removal of all lymph nodes in the armpit through con-ventional axillary dissection has been standard care for all patients with breast cancer for almost a century. In the nineties, the sentinel lymph node (SLN) procedure, which involves the selective removal of the first few lymph nodes in the lymphatic drainage system, was introduced in clinical practice. Today, conventional axillary dissection is still
performed on many women with breast cancer that has spread to the nodes. It is the cause for relevant morbidity in the form of lymphedema, impairment of shoulder mobility, sensation disorders and chronic pain in as much as one third of all women undergoing the procedure.
The TAXIS trial will evaluate the optimal treatment for breast cancer patients with confirmed nodal disease at first diagnosis in terms of surgery and radiotherapy. In particu-lar, it will investigate the value of tailored axillary surgery (TAS), a new technique that aims at selectively removing the positive lymph nodes. TAS is a promising procedure that may significantly decrease morbidity in breast cancer
patients by avoiding surgical overtreatment.
This trial has the potential to establish a new worldwide treatment standard with hopefully less side effects and a better quality of life, while keeping the same efficacy as provided by radical surgery.