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Updated: May 7, 2026
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema
Published on: January 12, 2017
Whole-body bioelectrical impedance analysis in assessing upper-limb lymphedema after breast cancer therapy
Sebastian Berlit1, Joachim Brade, Benjamin Tuschy
1University Medical Centre Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany. sebastian.berlit@umm.de.
Aim:
The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate single-frequency whole-body bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) as a predictor for the onset of edema of the upper limb in patients undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
Materials And Methods:
Whole-body BIA was performed before surgery, as well as at two days, and one, three, six and twelve months after surgery.
Results:
Sixty women undergoing breast cancer surgery were examined, with loss of follow-up of 18 patients. Seven patients (14.3%) developed an edema of the upper limb within the first 12 months after surgery. Resistance (R) using whole-body BIA showed a fairly good performance in terms of sensitivity (85.71%) and specificity (97.4%) at predicting edema. The positive predictive value of 54.6% was unsatisfactory, whereas the negative predictive value was 97.4%.
Conclusion:
Resistance in whole-body BIA can be used to rule-out a developing edema of the upper limb.
