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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema
Published on: January 12, 2017
Assessment of breast cancer-related arm lymphedema--comparison of physical measurement methods and self-report
S A Czerniec1, L C Ward, K M Refshauge
1Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Purpose:
To determine the relationship between physical methods of measuring lymphedema and self-reported swelling, their reliability, and standard error of measurement.
Method:
Lymphedema in each arm of women with (n = 33) and without (n = 18) unilateral arm lymphedema, secondary to breast cancer was measured by self-report, bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS), perometer, and the truncated cone method.
Results:
The physical measurement tools were highly reliable (ICC((2,1)): 0.94 to 1.00) with high concordance (r(c): 0.89 to 0.99). Self-report correlated moderately with physical measurements (r = 0.65 to 0.71) and was moderately reliable (ICC((2,1)): 0.70).
Conclusions:
Lymphedema assessment methods are concordant and reliable but not interchangeable.
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