Breast cancer surgery linked to swollen arm syndrome
The findings in a new paper Incidence of unilateral arm lymphoedema after breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, reveal the invasiveness of surgery to treat breast cancer increases the risk of developing arm lymphoedema. Lead author of the study Tracey DiSipio, from QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said women who had undergone an axillary lymph node dissection — an invasive surgery to remove lymph nodes under the arm — were four times more likely to suffer swollen or disfigured arms. …