Could a simple numbing shot stop chronic pain after breast cancer surgery?
NCT ID NCT03023007
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study looked at whether giving a specific type of numbing medicine (called PECS) during mastectomy surgery can lower the chance of having chronic pain 6 months later. It included 194 women having a breast removed, with or without lymph node removal or reconstruction. The goal is to see if this simple procedure can make recovery less painful in the long run.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- PECS loco-regional anaesthesia (a numbing injection around chest nerves)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a simple way to prevent long-term pain after breast removal surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, non-randomized study, so results may not be reliable. The technique might not reduce pain for everyone.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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194 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Apr 2017
- Finished
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Aug 2019
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients with unilateral breast cancer * Surgery must be a total mastectomy +/- axillary lymph node dissection and +/- reconstruction by prosthesis; unless first surgery was performed more than 5 years prior to total mastectomy without any residual pain * Age ≥ 18 ans * Non-opposition of patients Exclusion Criteria: * Reconstruction by other than prosthesis * Previous breast surgery in the last year * Hypersensitivity or allergy of anaesthetics * Coagulopathy and local infections * Pregnant or breastfeeding * Patients under guardianship
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Centre Oscar Lambret
Lille, 59020, France
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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