Prospective, early longitudinal assessment of lymphedema-related quality of life among patients with locally advanced breast cancer: The foundation for building a patient-centered screening program.

ABSTRACT:

Background

We examined how breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) affects health-related quality of life (HRQOL), productivity, and compliance with therapeutic interventions to guide structuring BCRL screening programs.

Methods

We prospectively followed consecutive breast cancer patients who underwent axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with arm volume screening and measures assessing patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and perceptions of BCRL care. Comparisons by BCRL status were made with Mann-Whitney U, Chi-square, Fisher's exact, or t tests. Trends over time from ALND were assessed with linear mixed-effects models.

Results

With a median follow-up of 8 months in 247 patients, 46% self-reported ever having BCRL, a proportion that increased ove

SUBMITTER: Gandhi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9996356 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature