Abstract
Secondary lymphedema often develops after removal of lymph nodes in combination with radiation therapy, in particular in patients with breast cancer, inguinal cancer, cervical cancer and melanoma. No convincing treatment for the prevention and therapy of acquired lymphedema exists so far, therefore we wanted to show the reintegration of transplanted avascular lymph node fragments in the lymphatic system and positive effects of the transplanted fragments on the restoration of the lymphatic flow in this study. A total of 26 minipigs underwent lymphadenectomy of both groins. A minimum of one lymph node was retransplanted. The lymph nodes were cut into small pieces and retransplanted in the left groin (n = 17) or in both groins (n = 9). Different retransplantation techniques were investigated, transplantation of large versus small fragments, with and without capsule. The lymph flow was evaluated 5 and 8 months after surgery, using SPECT/CT and Berlin Blue. The results were confirmed by dissection. The lymph node transplants were assessed histologically. In contrast to the lymph flow in the transplanted groin, the lymph flow in the non-transplanted groin was often malfunctioning. Large lymph node fragments were found reintegrated in the lymphatic system more often than small slices of lymph node fragments. About 5 months after surgery impairment of lymph flow was seen especially after retransplantation of small slices of lymph node fragments. In seven out of eight minipigs a dermal backflow developed in the non-transplanted groin, 8 months after surgery. Only one minipig of these groups developed dermal backflow in both groins. All lymph node fragments showed an organized structure histologically. Autologous lymph node transplantation has positive effects on the regeneration of lymph vessels and restoration of lymph flow after lymphadenectomy.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hadamitzky C, Pabst R (2008) Acquired lymphedema: an urgent need for adequate animal models. Cancer Res 68:343–345. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-07-2454
Lawenda BD, Mondry TE, Johnstone PA (2009) Lymphedema: a primer on the identification and management of a chronic condition in oncologic treatment. CA Cancer J Clin 59:8–24. doi:10.3322/caac.20001
Mortimer PS (1998) The pathophysiology of lymphedema. Cancer 83:2798–2802. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19981215)83:12B+<2798::AID-CNCR28>3.0.CO;2-E
Szuba A, Strauss W, Sirsikar SP et al (2002) Quantitative radionuclide lymphoscintigraphy predicts outcome of manual lymphatic therapy in breast cancer-related lymphedema of the upper extremity. Nucl Med Commun 23:1171–1175. doi:10.1097/00006231-200212000-00004
Brorson H, Svensson H, Norrgren K et al (1998) Liposuction reduces arm lymphedema without significantly altering the already impaired lymph transport. Lymphology 31:156–172
Ryan TJ (1995) Lymphatics and adipose tissue. Clin Dermatol 13:493–498. doi:10.1016/0738-081X(95)00092-T
Burak WE, Hollenbeck ST, Zervos EE et al (2002) Sentinel lymph node biopsy results in less postoperative morbidity compared with axillary lymph node dissection for breast cancer. Am J Surg 183:23–27. doi:10.1016/S0002-9610(01)00848-0
Kwan W, Jackson J, Weir LM et al (2002) Chronic arm morbidity after curative breast cancer treatment: prevalence and impact on quality of life. J Clin Oncol 20:4242–4248. doi:10.1200/JCO.2002.09.018
Meneses KD, McNees MP (2007) Upper extremity lymphedema after treatment for breast cancer: a review of the literature. Ostomy Wound Manage 53:16–29
Brennan MJ, Miller LT (1998) Overview of treatment options and review of the current role and use of compression garments, intermittent pumps, and exercise in the management of lymphedema. Cancer 83:2821–2827. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19981215)83:12B+<2821::AID-CNCR33>3.0.CO;2-G
Mortimer PS (1997) Therapy approaches for lymphedema. Angiology 48:87–91. doi:10.1177/000331979704800114
Rockson SG (2001) Lymphedema. Am J Med 110:288–295. doi:10.1016/S0002-9343(00)00727-0
Campisi C, Davini D, Bellini C et al (2006) Is there a role for microsurgery in the prevention of arm lymphedema secondary to breast cancer treatment? Microsurgery 26:70–72. doi:10.1002/micr.20215
Filippetti M, Santoro E, Graziano F et al (1994) Modern therapeutic approaches to postmastectomy brachial lymphedema. Microsurgery 15:604–610. doi:10.1002/micr.1920150816
Weiss M, Baumeister RG, Hahn K (2002) Post-therapeutic lymphedema: scintigraphy before and after autologous lymph vessel transplantation: 8 years of long-term follow-up. Clin Nucl Med 27:788–792. doi:10.1097/00003072-200211000-00007
Damstra RJ, Voesten HG, van Schelven WD, et al (2008) Lymphatic venous anastomosis (LVA) for treatment of secondary arm lymphedema. A prospective study of 11 LVA procedures in 10 patients with breast cancer related lymphedema and a critical review of the literature. Breast Cancer Res Treat 113:199–206. doi:10.1007/s10549-008-9932-5
Brorson H, Ohlin K, Olsson G et al (2006) Adipose tissue dominates chronic arm lymphedema following breast cancer: an analysis using volume rendered CT images. Lymphat Res Biol 4:199–210. doi:10.1089/lrb.2006.4404
Tammela T, Saaristo A, Holopainen T et al (2007) Therapeutic differentiation and maturation of lymphatic vessels after lymph node dissection and transplantation. Nat Med 13:1458–1466. doi:10.1038/nm1689
Lammermann T, Sixt M (2008) The microanatomy of T-cell responses. Immunol Rev 221:26–43. doi:10.1111/j.1600-065X.2008.00592.x
Szuba A, Pyszel A, Jedrzejuk D et al (2007) Presence of functional axillary lymph nodes and lymph drainage within arms in women with and without breast cancer-related lymphedema. Lymphology 40:81–86
Blum KS, Radtke C, Knapp WH et al (2007) SPECT-CT: a valuable method to document the regeneration of lymphatics and autotransplanted lymph node fragments. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 34:1861–1867. doi:10.1007/s00259-007-0458-6
Cheville AL, Das I, Srinivas S, et al (2009) A pilot study to assess the utility of SPECT/CT-based lymph node imaging to localize lymph nodes that drain the arm in patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. doi:10.1007/s10549-008-0283-z
Fu K, Izquierdo R, Vandevender D et al (1998) Transplantation of lymph node fragments in a rabbit ear lymphedema model: a new method for restoring the lymphatic pathway. Plast Reconstr Surg 101:134–141. doi:10.1097/00006534-199801000-00022
Weissleder H, Weissleder R (1988) Lymphedema: evaluation of qualitative and quantitative lymphoscintigraphy in 238 patients. Radiology 167:729–735
Herd-Smith A, Russo A, Muraca MG et al (2001) Prognostic factors for lymphedema after primary treatment of breast carcinoma. Cancer 92:1783–1787. doi:10.1002/1097-0142(20011001)92:7<1783::AID-CNCR1694>3.0.CO;2-G
Petrek JA, Senie RT, Peters M et al (2001) Lymphedema in a cohort of breast carcinoma survivors 20 years after diagnosis. Cancer 92:1368–1377. doi:10.1002/1097-0142(20010915)92:6<1368::AID-CNCR1459>3.0.CO;2-9
Becker C, Assouad J, Riquet M et al (2006) Postmastectomy lymphedema: long-term results following microsurgical lymph node transplantation. Ann Surg 243:313–315. doi:10.1097/01.sla.0000201258.10304.16
Saharinen P, Tammela T, Karkkainen MJ et al (2004) Lymphatic vasculature: development, molecular regulation and role in tumor metastasis and inflammation. Trends Immunol 25:387–395. doi:10.1016/j.it.2004.05.003
Blum KS, Pabst R (2006) Keystones in lymph node development. J Anat 209:585–595. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00650.x
Porter CJ, Charman SA (2000) Lymphatic transport of proteins after subcutaneous administration. J Pharm Sci 89:297–310. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1520-6017(200003)89:3<297::AID-JPS2>3.0.CO;2-P
Adair TH, Guyton AC (1983) Modification of lymph by lymph nodes II. Effect of increased lymph node venous blood pressure. Am J Physiol 245:H616–H622
Acknowledgment
The excellent technical assistance of Andrea Herden and Karin Westermann and the polishing of the English by Sheila Fryk are gratefully acknowledged. This study was partly supported by the German Research Foundation (Cluster of Excellence “From Regenerative Biology to Reconstructive Therapy, REBIRTH”).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Blum, K.S., Hadamitzky, C., Gratz, K.F. et al. Effects of autotransplanted lymph node fragments on the lymphatic system in the pig model. Breast Cancer Res Treat 120, 59–66 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-009-0367-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-009-0367-4