THE USE OF BIOIMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY TO MONITOR THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION IN PATIENTS TREATED FOR BREAST CANCER RELATED LYMPHEDEMA

Abstract

We performed a multi-institutionalanalysis to evaluate the ability of bioimpedancespectroscopy (BIS) to capture the impact oflymphedema treatment compared withobservation alone in the management ofbreast cancer related lymphedema (BCRL).We utilized a retrospective review of 50patients with breast cancer who wereevaluated with BIS at baseline and followingloco-regional treatment. An analysis wasperformed comparing changes in L-Dex scoresfor those patients undergoing treatment forBCRL (n=13) versus those not undergoingintervention (n=37). A second (subset)analysis was also performed on all patientswith elevated L-Dex scores compared tobaseline prior to undergoing loco-regionaltreatment (n=32). When comparing the cohorttreated for BCRL to those not treated, L-Dexscores were significantly reduced (-4.3 v. 0.1,p=0.005) in the period following intervention(for treated patients). For the subset ofpatients with elevated L-Dex scores postoperation,the change in L-Dex scorefollowing BCRL treatment was significantlyreduced (-5.8 v. 0.1, p=0.001) compared withthe group observed that had elevated postsurgicalL-Dex scores. In this analysis, BISwas able to detect early onset lymphedema andsubsequently significant changes (reductions)in L-Dex scores directly related to interventionfor BCRL compared with observation alone.