Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema with the presence or absence of accumulation of Fluid: MR Findings in ISL Stage II Cases

抄録

Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is chronic swelling of the arm that develops from breast cancer treatment. The International Society of Lymphology (ISL) classification is widely used to determine the clinical stage of lymphedema. Lymphedema diagnosis and staging are based on limb circumference measurements and the patient's subjective symptoms, which have poor reproducibility and objectivity and cannot detect any fluid accumulation in the tissue. This study aimed to evaluate fluid accumulation in the tissue in BCRL (ISL stage II) through MRI.

Material and Methods: This study included 10 women who were treated for unilateral breast cancer and had subsequently developed BCRL(ISL stage Ⅱ). To observe fluid accumulation using a 3-Tesla MR system under Double Echo Steady State conditions.

Results: Although all the subjects were classified as having stage II lymphedema, they showed mixed results of with or without hyperintensity on MR imaging.

Conclusion: This report found that lymphedema progression was mixed even though patients were receiving the same treatment at the same stage.