Breast lymphoedema validation study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the presence of breast lymphoedema following breast cancer treatment: A validation study.
IRAS ID
172621
Contact name
Katherine Riches
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Nottingham
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 31 days
Research summary
Lymphoedema is a condition that occurs when the lymph system cannot drain lymph fluid effectively. When this happens the area(s) that are affected become swollen. Lymphoedema can develop after treatment for breast cancer, as the treatment often involves the lymph nodes in the arm pit. Lymphoedema has been recognised to affect the arm and / or the breast or chest wall. The number of patients who will develop lymphoedema after treatment for breast cancer varies. There has been lots of research undertaken to look at the assessment and identification of lymphoedema of the arm. At present there isn’t an agreed method for measuring the presence of swelling (lymphoedema) of the breast. Currently we rely on patient reported symptoms and a clinical examination of how the breast looks and feels. There have been different assessment techniques that have been developed and are used to assess lymphoedema of the limbs but have not yet been fully tested in assessing lymphoedema of the breast. Having a more reliable technique for assessing breast swelling would help in the diagnosis of breast lymphoedema and also to enable us to monitor the effectiveness of our treatment of the swelling.
The aims of this study are to provide information on the techniques that could be used to assess the presence of breast lymphoedema. This will help us to understand which assessment techniques can identify when swelling is present which would enable us to use them routinely in the future. This study will assess several non-invasive assessment techniques and questionnaires to try and determine the presence of breast lymphoedema. The diagnosis of breast lymphoedema will be made a lymphoedema specialist following a clinical examination.REC name
North West - Haydock Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/NW/0608
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion