BREAST EDEMA AFTER CONSERVATIVE SURGERY FOR EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER: A RETROSPECTIVE SINGLE-CENTER ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS
- C. Cornacchia
- S. Dessalvi
- G. Santori
- F. Canobbio
- G. Atzori
- F. De Paoli
- R. Diaz
- S. Franchelli
- M. Gipponi
- F. Murelli
- M. Sparavigna
- F. Pitto
- A. Fozza
- F. Boccardo
- D. Friedman
- P. Fregatti
Abstract
Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is the standard of care for early-stage breast cancer. We retrospectively enrolled 530 patients (mean age: 62.96 ± 12.69 years) undergoing BCS between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all patients with at least 1 year of follow-up were telephonically asked after surgery to provide clinical signs and symptoms attributable to postoperative breast cancer-related lymphedema of the breast (BCRL-B). Thirty-one (5.8%) patients reported breast edema and were visited to measure the tissue dielectric constant (TDC) and to assess the induration of the skin. There was a difference seen in treatment with lumpectomy + ALND performed more frequently in patients with (29%) than without (12%) BCRL-B. In the subgroup of patients with BCRL-B (n=31), significantly higher values of local total water were calculated in the nine patients who underwent Lump + ALND procedure (1.86 ± 0.48 vs. 1.48 ± 0.38; p = 0.046). Among patients with BCRL-B (n=31), in eight patients (25.8%) tissue induration measured with SkinFibroMeter was >0.100 N, thus suggesting tissue fibrosis. Cumulative survival probability at 1-year after surgery was 0.992. No statistical differences in 1-year survival after surgery were found for type of surgery (p = 0.890) or absence/presence of BCRL-B (p = 0.480). In univariate logistic regression, only lumpectomy + ALND surgery (p = 0.009) and any subsequent axillary lymph node removal surgery (p = 0.003) were associated with BCRL-B. Both of these variables were also found to be statistically significant in the multivariate regression model. Further prospective research is warranted to analyze potentential predictors of BCRL-B and to reduce/ prevent this complication.
Keywords: breast edema, lymphedema, breast-conserving surgery, breast-conserving surgery, breast cancer
How to Cite:
Cornacchia, C., Dessalvi, S., Santori, G., Canobbio, F., Atzori, G., De Paoli, F., Diaz, R., Franchelli, S., Gipponi, M., Murelli, F., Sparavigna, M., Pitto, F., Fozza, A., Boccardo, F., Friedman, D. & Fregatti, P., (2023) “BREAST EDEMA AFTER CONSERVATIVE SURGERY FOR EARLY-STAGE BREAST CANCER: A RETROSPECTIVE SINGLE-CENTER ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS”, Lymphology 55(4), 167-177. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/lymph.5738
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