Predictors of Lymphedema Following Breast Cancer Surgery

Abstract

Surgery for breast cancer includes removal of the breast tumor along with axillarylymph nodes. Unfortunately, a relatively common side effect following axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is upper-extremity lymphedema. The purpose of this study is to identify risk factors for lymphedema among women with breast cancer surgery. A case-control study was conducted with 94 cases with lymphedema and 94 controls that were frequency matched on type of axillary surgery and surgery date. On multivariate analysis, lymphedema cases were more likely to have active cancer status at their last follow-up, and to have received chemotherapy than controls. Greater Body Mass Index was associated with moderate or severe lymphedema. The severity of arm or hand swelling was significantly related to how much the lymphedema interfered with patients daily activities. Quality of life was affected by lymphedema with lymphedema patients reporting significantly lower scores on the physical component scale of the SF-36.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA477130

Entities

People

  • Karen K. Swenson

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biopsy
  • Breast Cancer
  • Health Services
  • Information Science
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Lymph Nodes
  • Mastectomy
  • Medical Personnel
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Neoplasms
  • Oncology
  • Prostheses And Implants
  • Quality Of Life
  • Risk Factors
  • Surgery
  • Surveys
  • Therapy

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Exercise and Sports Science.
  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.
  • Oncology and Biomarker-Based Cancer Detection.