Moderate or marked lessening of induration in the irradiated breast, pectoral fold and/or supraclavicular fossa was recorded clinically in 8/15 evaluable patients. The mean percentage reduction in arm volume from baseline at 12 months was 7.51.

Overall, there was a statistically significant, but clinically modest, reduction in ipsilateral arm volume at 12 months follow-up compared with baseline (P = 0.005). Six out of 13 evaluable patients experienced a >25% improvement in (99)Tc-nanocolloid clearance rate from the ipsilateral forearm measured by quantitative lymphoscintigraphy at 12 months. Three out of 19 evaluable patients experienced >20% reduction in arm volume at 12 months. A secondary endpoint was local lymph drainage expressed as fractional removal rate of radioisotopic tracer, measured using lymphoscintigraphy. The volume of the ipsilateral limb, measured opto-electronically by a perometer and expressed as a percentage of contralateral limb volume, was selected as the primary endpoint. The volunteers breathed 100% oxygen at 2.4 ATA for 100 min in a multiplace hyperbaric chamber on 30 occasions over a period of 6 weeks.

Twenty-one eligible research volunteers with a minimum 30% increase in arm volume in the years after axillary/supraclavicular radiotherapy (axillary surgery in 18/21 cases) were treated with HBO(2). Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO(2)) therapy promotes healing in bone rendered ischaemic by radiotherapy, and may help some soft-tissue injuries too, but is untested in arm lymphoedema. Radiation-induced arm lymphoedema is a common and distressing complication of curative treatment for early breast cancer.

Like Cats And Dogs by Alexis Stanton