Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 8, 2025
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema
Published on: January 12, 2017
Treatment of Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema Using Negative Pressure Massage: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Riikka Lampinen1, Jeannette Q Lee2, Janella Leano1
1Graduate Program in Physical Therapy, University of California San Francisco/San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA.
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of negative pressure massage treatment (NPMT) compared with manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) in women with chronic breast cancer-related lymphedema (LE). We hypothesized that NPMT would result in greater improvements in LE and upper limb function.
Design:
Pilot single-blinded randomized controlled trial.
Setting:
Health sciences university.
Participants:
Of 64 women screened, 28 met eligibility requirements (ie, >18y of age; completed active treatment for breast cancer; had unilateral arm LE for ≥1y; were not receiving LE care; had stable LE) and were randomized to the NPMT (n=15) and control groups (n=13).
Interventions:
The intervention group received NPMT and the control group received MLD; both received twelve 60-minute sessions over 4-6 weeks.
Main Outcome Measures:
Bioimpedance (lymphedema index [L-Dex] units]), limb volume (mL) calculated from limb circumference, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire (DASH) score.
Results:
Outcomes were analyzed for 28 women. Compared to the MLD group, the NPMT group demonstrated greater improvement with a large effect size in L-Dex scores (P=.001; standardized mean difference [SMD]=-1.15; 95% confidence interval, -1.96 to -0.35) and interlimb volume differences (P=.038; SMD=-0.83; 95% confidence interval, -1.60 to -0.05). Differences in DASH scores were not statistically significant (P=.067).
Conclusions:
Compared to MLD, treatment with NPMT resulted in greater improvement in L-Dex scores and interlimb volume differences in women with a duration of unilateral upper limb LE of >1 year. Our findings need to be confirmed in a larger randomized controlled trial.
