Preventing Arm Swelling in Breast Cancer Patients

A new procedure has been developed to prevent one of the most common side effects associated with breast cancer treatment, swelling of the arms due to faulty drainage of the lymph nodes (lymphedema).

Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS; Little Rock, USA) developed the axillary reverse mapping (ARM) procedure, a technique that maps the ways in which fluid drains through the lymph node system in the arm through the injection of a blue dye. The draining of the first lymph node, known as the sentinel lymph node, is capable of predicting if the cancer has spread to the remaining armpit lymph nodes, known as axillary lymph nodes. ARM mapping of the lymph drainage of the arm decreases the chances of unintended disruption of the lymph node system during surgery and reduces the risk of developing swelling in the arm. The study was published in the February 2007 issue of the Annals of Surgical Oncology.

"The removal and analysis of the lymph nodes under the arm remains the most important factor in determining the severity of disease in breast cancer patients,” said lead author V. Suzanne Klimberg, M.D., director of the UAMS breast cancer program.

The lymph node system is at risk of disruption during either a sentinel lymph node biopsy or an axillary lymph node dissection. Five to 50% of women undergoing surgical treatment for breast cancer have developed lymphedema, mainly dependent upon the extent of surgery.


Related Links:
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences