Research Purpose:
Chronic breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) results from lymphatic system failure after breast cancer treatments, causing physical and psychological suffering. The current treatment, complex physical decongestion therapy (CDT) consists of manual lymphatic drainage, massage, physiotherapy and skin care. CDT cannot address the underlying problems and therefore fails to prevent BCRL from getting worse. Surgical options can address underlying causes. The surgeries have low complication rates. This is the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing surgical techniques to CDT alone. If surgery is superior to CDT in improving quality of life, the trial will help patient access to effective treatment.
What is involved:
If you are eligible, and choose to participate in this study, you will be asked to:
- Attend follow up appointments as scheduled by your doctor and provide medical details
- Receive treatment: either surgery + conservative therapy or only conservative therapy. Which treatment you receive will depend on the study randomization process
- Complete questionnaires before and after treatment
The questionnaires will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Who can participate:
You may be eligible to participate in this study if you are:
- Patients ≥ 18 years of age with prior treatment of breast cancer.
- At least one of the following prior breast cancer treatments: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), radiotherapy (RT) of chest wall or axilla or breast cancer surgery.
- Clinical diagnosis of chronic BCRL as defined by the international society of lymphology (ISL; inter-limb difference of >10% in volume or excess volume between the affected and non-affected arm present for more than 3 months).
- Minimum of 3 months CDT.
- Ability to complete the QoL questionnaires.