Abstract
Background
Docetaxel is a key anticancer drug for the treatment of breast cancer. Edema is a known side effect of treatment. In patients with breast cancer, the treatment of edema focuses on that of lymphedema. To establish treatment for the edemas caused by docetaxel therapy in breast cancer patients, this study aimed to summarize the evidence on the clinical features of such edemas.
Methods
A scoping review design was used. We limited our search to articles titles published in English. We included studies involving participants of all ages and at all stages of breast cancer. We searched the PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Central databases for articles published between January 2006 and July 2021.
Results
A total of 283 articles were found, and eight papers were deemed eligible for inclusion. The site of edema formation was mainly the upper and lower limbs. Edema appeared three weeks after the end of the docetaxel regimen, and edema in the legs and arm on the contralateral side of the surgery returned to the pre-docetaxel level after 6 months of chemotherapy.
Conclusion
It was difficult to distinguish edema of the upper limbs due to docetaxel in patients with breast cancer from lymphedema due to lymph node dissection. In order to establish management strategies of docetaxel-related edema, it is necessary to characterize lower-limb edema, which are not affected by lymph node dissection.
