Lymphatic drainage in the muscle and subcutis of the arm after breast cancer treatment.

Breast cancer-related lymphoedema of the arm (BCRL) results from impaired lymph drainage after axillary surgery. Little is known about lymphatic changes in the arm between surgery and oedema onset. We measured forearm muscle and subcutis lymph drainage in 36 women at 7 and 30 months after surgery by quantitative lymphoscintigraphy. None had BCRL initially but 19% had BCRL by 30 months. At 7 months muscle and subcutis drainage in both arms of BCRL-destined women exceeded that of non-BCRL women (P < 0.01). Muscle lymph drainage always exceeded subcutis drainage (P < 0.0001). Muscle lymph drainage in the ipsilateral arm was unimpaired relative to the contralateral arm. BCRL therefore developed in women with higher peripheral lymph flows. The major lymphatic load was generated by muscle; there was no pre-BCRL lymphatic impairment in the muscle of the ipsilateral arm. We propose that some women have a defined, constitutive predisposition to secondary lymphoedema. Specifically, women with higher filtration rates, and therefore higher lymph flows through the axilla that are closer to the maximum sustainable, are at greater risk of BCRL following axillary trauma, even following removal of 1-2 nodes.

A quantitative lymphoscintigraphic evaluation of lymphatic function in the swollen hands of women with lymphoedema following breast cancer treatment.

In BCRL (breast cancer-related lymphoedema), arm swelling is unevenly distributed and some regions are partly or entirely spared. In particular, the hand may or not be swollen, but when involved functional impairment can be substantial. We have found previously that, when the ipsilateral hand is spared of swelling (in a limb with swelling proximal to the hand), the local lymph drainage rate constant (k) is at least as high as in the contralateral hand, contrary to the traditional 'stopcock' concept of reduced lymph drainage from the whole limb. In the light of this finding, we have investigated lymph drainage in the hands of eight women with BCRL and moderate-to-severe hand swelling, using gamma-camera quantitative lymphoscintigraphy. Images showed pronounced superficial activity in the ipsilateral swollen arms of most patients, indicating dermal backflow. k for 99mTc-labelled hIgG (human IgG) measured over 5 h in the subcutis of the ipsilateral swollen hand was 34+/-24% less than in the contralateral hand (P=0.013). Activity measured in the ipsilateral swollen forearm increased progressively, but there was very little increase in the contralateral forearm, indicating retention of 99mTc-labelled hIgG in the swollen forearm. It is concluded that lymphatic function in the swollen hand is impaired, and that there appears to be two populations of women with BCRL, i.e. spared-hand and swollen-hand, irrespective of the cancer treatment received.