by Anna Michelotti,
Marco Invernizzi, Gianluca Lopez, Daniele Lorenzini, Francesco Nesa, Alessandro
De Sire, Nicola Fusco
The Breast: April 2019, Volume 44, Pages 15-23
Breast cancer related
lymphedema (BCRL) develops as a consequence of surgical treatment and/or
radiation therapy in a significant number of breast cancer patients. The
etiology of this condition is multifactorial and has not yet been completely
elucidated. Risk factors include high body mass index, radical surgical
procedures (i.e. mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection), number of
lymph nodes removed and number of metastatic lymph nodes, as well as nodal
radiation, and chemotherapy. However, these predisposing factors explain only
partially the BCRL occurrence, suggesting the possible involvement of
individual determinants.
