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Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema
Published on: January 12, 2017
What do we know about treating breast-cancer-related lymphedema? Review of the current knowledge about therapeutic
Karolina Anuszkiewicz1, Jerzy Jankau2, Martyna Kur2
1Department of Plastic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 80-214, Gdańsk, Poland. karolina.anuszkiewicz@gumed.edu.pl.
Abstract:
Breast-cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a common consequence of oncological treatment. Its management is a complicated, chronic, and arduous process. Therapeutic options can be divided on non-surgical and surgical methods, although there is still no clear consensus about their effectiveness in preventing or stopping the disease. That brings problems in everyday practice, as there are no guidelines about proper time for starting therapy and no agreement about which management will be beneficial for each patient. The aim of this review is to summarize current knowledge about possible treatment choices, non-surgical so as surgical, indicate knowledge gaps, and try to direct pathways for future studies.
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