Frequency of Lymphedema in Patients who Underwent Regional Nodal Radiation for Breast Cancer

Abstract

Aim: To determine the frequency and grading of lymphedema (LE) in patients who underwent regional nodal radiation for Breast Cancer in the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Nishtar Hospital Multan. Methods: Total 163 cases of breast cancers that had undergone regional node radiation with age range from 30- 60 years were selected. Patients with arm edema before treatment, heart failure and chronic liver disease were excluded. Circumference of the affected part was measured in all selected cases and lymphedema grades were noted. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS v19. Chi-square test was applied to determine the association of age with frequency and grading of LE. Results: Mean age of patients was 48.64 ± 5.62 years, 68 (41.72%) of females were in age group 51-60 years, 54 (33.13%) in 41-50 years and 41 (25.15%) in 30-40 years’ age group.Lymphedema was present in 60 (36.81%) cases of breast cancer that had undergone regional lymph node radiations while 103 (63.19%) had shown no complaint of lymphedema. Grade I (mild edema) was seen in 15 (7.97%), Grade II (moderate edema) in 20 (12.27%) and Grade III (severe edema) in 27 (16.56%) patients. Conclusion: This study concluded that the frequency of lymphedema in patients who underwent regional nodal radiation for breast cancer was 36.81% in this study with higher percentage of Grade III lymphedema(16.56%).