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A multicentre cross-sectional study of arm lymphedema four or more years after breast cancer treatment in Iranian patients

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Abstract

Background

We performed a cross-sectional multicentre study to assess the prevalence of lymphedema after breast cancer treatment in Iran.

Patients and methods

All female breast cancer patients who attended our follow-up clinics four or more years after their surgery with no sign of disease were asked to participate in this study. Lymphedema was defined as an increase of 10% in the circumference of the arm on the involved side compared to the opposite arm.

Results

The total number of patients participating in this study was 355. The prevalence of lymphedema in the study patients was 17.5%, with the rate varying significantly (between 4 and 21%) among the three study centres (p = 0.007). The mean number of months post surgery was larger for patients with lymphedema (84 months) than for those without (79 months), though this was not statistically significant (p > 0.1). The relationships of various treatment factors and the education levels of the patients to the presence of lymphedema were also evaluated. None of the observed differences were statistically significant aside from those for the type of surgery (mastectomy vs. conservative surgery, p = 0.055), treatment with radiotherapy (p = 0.099), and prescription of a supraclavicular radiation field (p = 0.057), which were only just significant.

Conclusion

The rate of lymphedema in our patients was 17.5%, ranging from 4 to 21% in different study centres. Time post surgery, treatment with radiotherapy and the technique used, and nodal radiation seem to be factors that are related to this large variation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was approved by the Cancer Research Centre of the Cancer Institute and the Research Services Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (study no. 3815-51-03-85). It was also approved as a multicentre study by the Iran National Cancer Research Network, to whom we are thankful. We also acknowledge the contributions of our nursing colleagues; without their help this study would not have been possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. Box 13145-158, Tehran, Iran

    Peiman Haddad, Mostafa Farzin, Farnaz Amouzegar-Hashemi & Bita Kalaghchi

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Seyedoshohada Hospital, Esfahan University of Medical Sciences, Esfahan, Iran

    Shadi Babazadeh

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Shohada-Tajrish Hospital, Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Hamid-Reza Mirzaei & Ahmad Mousavizadeh

  4. Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Iraj Harirchi

  5. Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Jahangir Rafat

Authors
  1. Peiman Haddad
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  2. Mostafa Farzin
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  3. Farnaz Amouzegar-Hashemi
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  4. Bita Kalaghchi
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  5. Shadi Babazadeh
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  6. Hamid-Reza Mirzaei
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  7. Ahmad Mousavizadeh
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  8. Iraj Harirchi
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  9. Jahangir Rafat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peiman Haddad.

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Haddad, P., Farzin, M., Amouzegar-Hashemi, F. et al. A multicentre cross-sectional study of arm lymphedema four or more years after breast cancer treatment in Iranian patients. Breast Cancer 17, 281–285 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-009-0165-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12282-009-0165-1

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