Efficacy of Home-based Treatment for Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema

Efficacy of Home-based Treatment for Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema

The goal of this clinical trials is to explore the effectiveness of home-based iymphedema treatment and the differences between the home-based and outpatient treatment. The main question is to verify that home-based treatment is as effective as outpatient treatment. We set two groups in this study, comparing the volume of affected upper limb to see if home-based iymphedema treatment is valuable method.

Secondary outcome measures:

1. Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30), It included five functional measures (somatic function, role function, cognitive function, emotional function, social function), three symptom measures (fatigue, pain, nausea and vomiting), six individual measures (dysphagia, loss of appetite, sleep disturbance, constipation, diarrhea, financial hardship), and one patient self-assessment item (total health status).
2. Breast Cancer and Lymphedema Symptom Experience Index (BCLE-SEI).

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Lymphedema appeared in the upper limb after breast cancer-related treatment, and compared with the healthy side, the edema dimension was more than 2cm.
2. Age 18-75 years old;
3. Edema stage Ⅰ to Ⅱ;

Exclusion Criteria:

1. People with severe cognitive impairment;
2. Bilateral lymphedema;
3. Patients undergoing radiotherapy；
4. Patients with uncontrolled tumors;
5. Congestive heart failure and other comprehensive detumescence treatment contraindicated patients.