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The role of ultrasonography in follow‐up of effectiveness of Complex Decongestive Therapy (CDT) in different subgroups of patients with breast cancer‐related lymphoedema
Author(s) -
Duyur Çakıt Burcu,
Ayhan F. Figen,
Gümrük Aslan Sefa,
Genç Hakan
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of cancer care
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1365-2354
pISSN - 0961-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ecc.13376
Subject(s) - medicine , ultrasonography , soft tissue , circumference , body mass index , breast cancer , stage (stratigraphy) , forearm , lymphedema , surgery , radiology , cancer , paleontology , geometry , mathematics , biology
Objective To determine the role of ultrasonography in the follow‐up of effectiveness of complex decongestive therapy (CDT) in different subgroups of patients with breast cancer‐related lymphoedema (BCRL). Methods Forty‐seven patients with unilateral upper BCRL were enrolled in the study. The patient group was divided into two subgroups according to body mass index (BMI) as obese and non‐obese and three subgroups according to International Society of Lymphology staging. All patients underwent CDT, the circumference measurements and ultrasonographic soft tissue thicknesses evaluations were performed at two anatomic sites, and upper extremity limb volumes were calculated using the truncated cone formula before and after CDT. Results There were significant decreases in both circumferential measurements and ultrasonographic soft tissue thicknesses in non‐obese patients and stage 2 lymphoedema patients after 15 sessions of CDT. The ultrasonographic soft tissue thickness values were correlated with the upper arm and forearm circumference values before ( r = 0.491, p < .001, r = 0.841, p < .001, respectively) and after ( r = 0.535, p < .001, r = 0.714, p < .001, respectively) CDT. Conclusions Ultrasonography presents as a reliable method to measure the soft tissue thickness and treatment efficacy after CDT in only non‐obese and stage 2 patients with BCRL.