Black Women at Greater Risk for Lymphedema After Breast Cancer Surgery

TUESDAY, Dec. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A information called lymphedema is simply a well-known broadside effect of breast crab treatment that tin pb to swelling successful the arms and legs.

New probe suggests that Black women acquisition are astatine much than 3 times the hazard of this achy contented compared to achromatic women.

"Lymphedema worsens prime of beingness for breast cancer patients," said the study's pb author, Dr. Andrea Barrio. She is an subordinate attending doc successful the breast work section astatine Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center successful New York City.

Understanding the links betwixt race, cancer treatment and the effects of attraction could yet assistance amended prime of beingness for bosom crab patients and survivors, Barrio said successful a quality merchandise from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Lymphedema has been somewhat overlooked successful the probe arena, said Dr. Stephanie Bernik, an subordinate prof of bosom country astatine Icahn School of Medicine astatine Mount Sinai successful New York City. She was not progressive successful the study.

"This survey hints astatine immoderate of the imaginable reasons for radical disparity, arsenic women with lymphedema were much apt to acquisition radiation therapy and chemotherapy earlier surgery," Bernik said.

"Black women with lymphedema were besides much apt to person a higher BMI [body wide index], a known hazard origin for processing lymphedema. There precise good whitethorn besides beryllium a familial constituent but much survey needs to beryllium directed to the basal causes of the problem," she added.

For the study, the researchers enrolled much than 300 bosom crab patients and utilized limb measurement measurements alternatively than much communal self-reported experiences oregon diagnosis codes.

The patients had undergone axillary lymph node dissection — surgical removal of lymph nodes — betwixt November 2016 and March 2020.

The researchers measured patients' limb measurement astatine baseline, aft their country and astatine six-month intervals. The survey defined lymphedema arsenic comparative measurement alteration of 10% oregon greater from the baseline.

At 24 months of follow-up, astir 25% of the women had developed lymphedema. Black women had a 3.5-fold accrued hazard of lymphedema compared to achromatic women, the findings showed.

Hispanic women besides had greater likelihood of lymphedema than achromatic women, with a threefold accrued risk. The survey authors noted that the Hispanic survey colonisation was tiny (just 6%), truthful further survey would beryllium indispensable to corroborate these findings.

The benignant of attraction seemed to marque a difference. Women who had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy — chemo earlier country — and past lymph node removal were doubly arsenic apt to make lymphedema arsenic their counterparts who had upfront country followed by axillary lymph node dissection, the survey found.

Barrio said different probe has proven that Black women are often diagnosed with later-stage bosom cancer. They are frankincense much apt to request the axillary country that tin summation hazard for lymphedema. Still, Black contention was the strongest predictor of lymphedema development.

Other factors associated with a higher hazard of lymphedema were older property and expanding clip from surgery.

The findings volition beryllium presented this week astatine the bosom crab symposium. Findings presented astatine aesculapian meetings should beryllium considered preliminary until published successful a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has much connected lymphedema.

SOURCES: Stephanie Bernik, MD, chief, bosom surgery, Mount Sinai West and subordinate professor, bosom surgery, Icahn School of Medicine astatine Mount Sinai, New York City; San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, quality release, Dec. 7, 2021