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Updated: Jul 8, 2025
Ultrasonographic Evaluation of Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema
Published on: January 12, 2017
Long-Term Patient-Reported Arm Symptoms in Breast Cancer Survivors
Alison Laws1,2,3, Mirelle Lagendijk4, Samantha Grossmith1
1Division of Breast Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
One in three breast cancer survivors report long-term arm symptoms, with higher rates linked to axillary lymph node dissection and certain breast reconstruction types. Severe symptoms are uncommon, but arm morbidity warrants attention during survivorship care.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Surgical Oncology
- Cancer Survivorship
Background:
- Breast cancer survival rates have significantly improved.
- Long-term arm symptoms are a concern for survivors.
- Understanding treatment-related morbidity is crucial for quality of life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the prevalence and severity of long-term arm symptoms in breast cancer survivors.
- To identify associations between locoregional treatments and arm symptom severity.
- To inform survivorship care and patient counseling.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 1126 breast cancer patients (stages 0-III) treated between 2002-2012.
- Patient-reported arm symptoms assessed using the EORTC QLQ-BR23 questionnaire.
- Linear regression used to analyze associations between treatments and Arm Symptom (AS) scores.
Main Results:
- 882 patients completed the questionnaire; mean follow-up was 10.5 years.
- 64.3% reported no arm symptoms; 9.3% reported severe symptoms.
- Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and autologous breast reconstruction were associated with higher AS scores.
Conclusions:
- Approximately one-third of breast cancer survivors experience arm symptoms 10 years post-treatment.
- Arm morbidity is influenced by both axillary and breast surgical procedures.
- Survivorship care should address potential arm-related issues stemming from treatment.
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