Axillary treatment and chronic breast cancer-related lymphedema: implications for prospective surveillance and intervention from a randomized controlled trial

John Boyages*, Frank A. Vicini, Behnaz Azimi Manavi, Richelle L. Gaw, Louise A. Koelmeyer, Sheila H. Ridner, Chirag Shah

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)
39 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

PURPOSEThe PREVENT randomized trial assessed progression to chronic breast cancer-related lymphedema (cBCRL) after intervention triggered by bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) or tape measurement (TM). This secondary analysis identifies cBCRL risk factors on the basis of axillary treatment.METHODSBetween June 2014 and September 2018, 881 patients received sentinel node biopsy (SNB; n = 651), SNB + regional node irradiation (RNI; n = 58), axillary lymph node dissection (ALND; n = 85), or ALND + RNI (n = 87). The primary outcome was the 3-year cBCRL rate requiring complex decongestive physiotherapy (CDP).RESULTSAfter a median follow-up of 32.8 months (IQR, 21-34.3), 69 of 881 patients (7.8%) developed cBCRL. For TM, 43 of 438 (9.8%) developed cBCRL versus 26 of 443 (5.9%) for BIS (P =.028). The 3-year actuarial risk of cBCRL was 4.4% (95% CI, 2.7 to 6.1), 4.2% (95% CI, 0 to 9.8), 25.8% (95% CI, 15.8 to 35.8), and 26% (95% CI, 15.3 to 36.7). Rural residence increased the risk in all groups. For SNB, neither RNI (SNB, 4.1% v SNB + RNI, 3.4%) nor taxane (4.4%) increased cBCRL, but risk was higher for patients with a BMI of ≥30 (6.3%). For SNB + RNI, taxane use (5.7%) or supraclavicular fossa (SCF) radiation (5.0%) increased cBCRL. For ALND patients, BMI ≥25 or chemotherapy increased cBCRL. For ALND + RNI, most patients received SCF radiation and taxanes, so no additional risk factors emerged.CONCLUSIONThe extent of axillary treatment is a significant risk factor for cBCRL. Increasing BMI, rurality, SCF radiation, and taxane chemotherapy also increase risk. These results have implications for a proposed risk-based lymphedema screening, early intervention, and treatment program.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1116-1124
Number of pages11
JournalJCO Oncology Practice
Volume19
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Copyright American Society of Clinical Oncology 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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