Showalter SL, Brown JC, Cheville AL, Fisher CS, Sataloff D, Schmitz KH, et al.
Annals of surgical oncology. Date of publication 2013 Mar 1;volume 20(3):842-9.
1. Ann Surg Oncol. 2013 Mar;20(3):842-9. doi: 10.1245/s10434-012-2631-9. Epub 2012
Oct 3.
Lifestyle risk factors associated with arm swelling among women with breast
cancer.
Showalter SL(1), Brown JC, Cheville AL, Fisher CS, Sataloff D, Schmitz KH.
Author information:
(1)Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
BACKGROUND: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a feared complication for
breast cancer patients who have undergone axillary surgery. Although clinical
risk factors for BCRL are defined, data are sparse regarding common exposures
that might induce incident arm swelling. The goal of this study was to quantify
the association between common exposures thought to be potential risk factors and
the occurrence of incident arm swelling among breast cancer survivors with or at
risk for BCRL.
METHODS: This is a prospective subanalysis of the Physical Activity and
Lymphedema (PAL) trial, a randomized controlled trial of 295 breast cancer
survivors. Participants reported their exposure to 30 different potential risk
factors at 3 month intervals for 1 year. Incident arm swelling was defined as a
≥5% increase in interlimb water volume difference between two consecutive time
points.
RESULTS: Twenty-seven participants (9%) experienced incident arm swelling and 268
patients (91%) did not. Sauna use was the only exposure that was significantly
predictive of incident arm swelling (p = 0.05). Nonwhite and nonblack
participants had a significantly increased risk for experiencing incident arm
swelling (p = 0.005 for both comparisons).
CONCLUSIONS: In our patient cohort, many common exposures that have been reported
to be risk factors did not prove to have a significant predictive relationship
for incident arm swelling. This study supports the recommendation that breast
cancer patients who have had axillary surgery should avoid sauna use. The results
do not confirm the need for other restrictions that may interfere with the
quality of life in women with breast cancer.
DOI: 10.1245/s10434-012-2631-9
PMCID: PMC4122425
PMID: 23054109 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
