scholarly journals Postmastectomic lymphedema prevention: modern possibilities

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-27
Author(s):  
V. F. Baytinger ◽  
O. S. Kurochkina ◽  
E. G. Zvonarev ◽  
A. A. Loyt

A three-dimensional computer model of the topographic and anatomical variants of the lymph nodes in the axillary fossa gives reason to doubt the indisputability of the known data on the normal anatomy of the lymph nodes. This mainly concerns the presence of a lateral (shoulder) group of axillary lymph nodes (4-6 nodes), which can be located not only on the medial, but also on the posterior surface of the shoulder. In some cases, this group of axillary lymph nodes is generally absent in its typical place and is in close proximity to the central (intermediate) group of lymph nodes. Attention to the lateral (shoulder) group of lymph nodes is due to the fact that through them lymph drainage occurs from the entire superficial (epifascial) lymphatic system of the volar surface of the upper limb (skin and subcutaneous tissue). From the lateral group of lymph nodes, lymph drainage goes either to the central group or to the deltapectoral lymph nodes. In the course of axillary lymph node dissection of I, II and III levels in breast cancer, it is possible to save only the deltapectal lymph node with its afferent and efferent vessels, which provides full-fledged lymphatic drainage from the dorsolateral surface of the upper limb. But in this situation, without lymphatic drainage (superficial and deep) with preserved lymph production, the inner (volar) part of the upper limb remains, where lymphostasis begins to develop. An exception is the variant of localization of the brachial group of lymph nodes on the posterior surface of the shoulder, in which it is possible to preserve the lateral group of lymph nodes, which does not fall into the block of adipose tissue with other regional lymph nodes, and therefore partially preserve the lymph drainage from the medial surface of the ipsilateral upper limb towards the deltapectoral lymph node. Taking into account the topographic and anatomical variability of the lymph drainage collectors in the axillary fossa and the varied nature of the involvement of lymph nodes in the metastatic process, in each clinical case, the standard preoperative mapping of axillary lymph nodes (reverse lymphatic mapping) does not allow predicting the risk and timing of the development of postoperative upper limb lymphedema. The advantage of our technology two-contrast fluorescent lymphography - is the possibility of visual differentiation of all elements of lymph drainage from the mammary gland (indocyanine green - ICG) and the ipsilateral upper limb (methylene blue - MB). According to the results of the study, it will be possible to clarify the localization of the lateral (shoulder) group of axillary lymph nodes, topographic and anatomical features of the lymphatic drainage collectors in the axillary fossa and indications for lymphovenous shunting for primary surgical prevention of postmastectomy lymphedema of the upper limb.

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 471
Author(s):  
Min Young Lee ◽  
Eunjung Kong ◽  
Dong Gyu Lee

This study aimed to determine whether bypass circulation was present in lymphedema and its effect. This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study. Patients who underwent unilateral breast cancer surgery with axillary lymph node dissection were recruited and underwent single-photon emission tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). SPECT/CT was performed to detect the three-dimensional locations of radio-activated lymph nodes. Patients with radioactivity in anatomical locations other than axillary lymph nodes were classified into a positive group. All patients received complete decongestive therapy (CDT). Exclusion criteria were as follows: History of bilateral breast cancer surgery, cervical lymph node dissection history, and upper extremity amputation. The difference in the upper extremity circumference (cm) was measured at four points: Mid-point of the upper arm, elbow, and 10 and 15 cm below the elbow. Twenty-nine patients were included in this study. Fifteen patients (51.7%) had bypass lymphatic systems on the affected side, six (20.7%) had a bypass lymphatic system with axillary lymph nodes on the unaffected side, and 11 (37.9%) showed new lymphatic drainage. The positive group showed significantly less swelling than the negative group at the mid-arm, elbow, and 15 cm below the elbow. Bypass lymphatic circulation had two patterns: Infraclavicular lymph nodes and supraclavicular and/or cervical lymph nodes. Changes in lymph drainage caused by surgery triggered the activation of the superficial lymphatic drainage system to relieve lymphedema. Superficial lymphatic drainage has a connection through the deltopectoral groove.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Sanaz Samiei ◽  
Renée W. Y. Granzier ◽  
Abdalla Ibrahim ◽  
Sergey Primakov ◽  
Marc B. I. Lobbes ◽  
...  

Radiomics features may contribute to increased diagnostic performance of MRI in the prediction of axillary lymph node metastasis. The objective of the study was to predict preoperative axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer using clinical models and radiomics models based on T2-weighted (T2W) dedicated axillary MRI features with node-by-node analysis. From August 2012 until October 2014, all women who had undergone dedicated axillary 3.0T T2W MRI, followed by axillary surgery, were retrospectively identified, and available clinical data were collected. All axillary lymph nodes were manually delineated on the T2W MR images, and quantitative radiomics features were extracted from the delineated regions. Data were partitioned patient-wise to train 100 models using different splits for the training and validation cohorts to account for multiple lymph nodes per patient and class imbalance. Features were selected in the training cohorts using recursive feature elimination with repeated 5-fold cross-validation, followed by the development of random forest models. The performance of the models was assessed using the area under the curve (AUC). A total of 75 women (median age, 61 years; interquartile range, 51–68 years) with 511 axillary lymph nodes were included. On final pathology, 36 (7%) of the lymph nodes had metastasis. A total of 105 original radiomics features were extracted from the T2W MR images. Each cohort split resulted in a different number of lymph nodes in the training cohorts and a different set of selected features. Performance of the 100 clinical and radiomics models showed a wide range of AUC values between 0.41–0.74 and 0.48–0.89 in the training cohorts, respectively, and between 0.30–0.98 and 0.37–0.99 in the validation cohorts, respectively. With these results, it was not possible to obtain a final prediction model. Clinical characteristics and dedicated axillary MRI-based radiomics with node-by-node analysis did not contribute to the prediction of axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer based on data where variations in acquisition and reconstruction parameters were not addressed.


Author(s):  
Ankur Garg ◽  
Udbhav Kathpalia ◽  
Shweta Bansal ◽  
Manoj Andley ◽  
Sudipta Saha

Background : Locally advanced breast carcinoma (LABC) includes a wide range of clinical scenarios- advanced primary tumors (T4), advanced nodal disease and inflammatory carcinomas(1). Traditionally, treatment of LABC included a combination of Chemotherapy, Radiation and Surgery(2). However, there has been a shift to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in recent times.(3) Histological status and the number of axillary lymph nodes with metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors and most powerful predictor of recurrence and survival in patients of breast carcinoma and remains so, even after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. (3) Information derived from the sentinel lymph node is considered valuable, with less discomfort to the patient when compared with axillary dissection.(4) However, its role in detecting nodal metastasis after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in LABC is still debatable and definitive studies to evaluate its role are still evolving. (5) Materials and Methods: Patients of LABC were evaluated using ultrasonography (USG) of axilla. Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) was administered and patients were reassessed by USG of axilla. Thirty patients with node negative axillary status were subjected to Sentinel lymph node mapping using isosulfan blue followed by Modified Radical Mastectomy and Axillary Lymph Node Dissection. Histopathological evaluation of stained and unstained lymph nodes done and the data, thus obtained, was statistically analysed.   Results: Sentinel lymph node biopsy performed using Isosulfan Blue dye alone, after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy predicts the status of axillary lymph nodes with low accuracy.   Conclusions: Further studies would be required to establish the role of sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with LABC after NACT.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaokai Ma ◽  
Shishuai Wen ◽  
Baofeng Liu ◽  
Dumin Li ◽  
Xiaolong Wang ◽  
...  

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between upper extremity lymphatics and sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer patients.Methods. Forty-four patients who underwent axillary reverse mapping (ARM) during axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) with SNL biopsy (SLNB) between February 2017 and October 2017 were investigated. ARM was performed using indocyanine green (ICG) to locate the upper extremity lymphatics; methylene blue dye was injected intradermally for SLN mapping.Results. ARM nodes were found in the ALND fields of all examined patients. The rate of identification of upper extremity lymphatics within the SLNB field was 65.9% (29 of 44). The ARM nodes were involved in metastases arising from primary breast tumors in 7 of the patients (15.9%), while no metastases were detected in pathologic axillary lymph node-negative patients. Lymphatics from the upper extremity drained into the SLNs in 5 of the 44 patients (11.4%); their ARM-detected nodes were found to be in close proximity to the SLNs.Conclusions. The ARM nodes and SLNs are closely related and share lymphatic drainage routes. The ARM procedure using fluorescence imaging is both feasible and, in patients who are SLN negative, oncologically safe. ARM using ICG is therefore effective for identifying and preserving upper extremity lymphatics, and SLNB combined with ARM appears to be a promising surgical refinement for preventing upper extremity lymphoedema.Clinical Trial Registration. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrial.gov:NCT02651142.


2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 960-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernd Gerber ◽  
Annette Krause ◽  
Heiner Müller ◽  
Dagmar Richter ◽  
Toralf Reimer ◽  
...  

PURPOSE: We studied the prognostic and predictive value of immunohistochemically detected occult tumor cells (OTCs) in lymph nodes and bone marrow aspirates obtained from node-negative breast cancer patients. All were classified as distant metastases-free using conventional staging methods. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 484 patients with pT1-2N0M0 breast cancer and 70 with pT1-2N1M0 breast cancer and a single affected lymph node participated in our trial. Ipsilateral axillary lymph nodes and intraoperatively aspirated bone marrow were examined. All samples were examined for OTCs using monoclonal antibodies to cytokeratins 8, 18, 19. Immunohistological findings were correlated with other prognostic factors. The mean follow-up was 54 ± 24 months. RESULTS: OTCs were detected in 180 (37.2%) of 484 pT1-2N0M0 patients: in the bone marrow of 126 patients (26.0%), in the lymph nodes of 31 patients (6.4%), and in bone marrow and lymph nodes of 23 (4.8%) patients. Of the 70 patients with pT1-2N1MO breast cancer and a single involved lymph node, OTCs were identified in the bone marrow of 26 (37.1%). The ability to detect tumor cells increased with the following tumor features: larger size, poor differentiation, and higher proliferation. Tumors of patients with OTCs more frequently demonstrated lymph node invasion, blood vessel invasion, higher urokinase-type plasminogen activator levels, and increased PAI-1 concentrations. Patients with detected OTCs showed reduced disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OAS) rates that were comparable to those observed in patients who had one positive lymph node. Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors revealed that OTCs, histological grading, and tumor size are significant predictors of DFS; OTCs and grading of OAS. CONCLUSION: OTCs detected by simultaneous immunohistochemical analysis of axillary lymph nodes and bone marrow demonstrate independent metastatic pathways. Although OTCs were significantly more frequent in patients with other unfavorable prognostic factors, they were confirmed as an independent prognostic factor for pT1-2N0M0, R0 breast cancer patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 136-141
Author(s):  
Kafeel Hussain A. ◽  
Shaweez Fathima S. ◽  
V. Sathialakshmi

Abstract Background Although some age-related changes in lymph node histoarchitecture have been described, they are seldom taken into account in traditional depictions of lymph nodes. Recently introduced clinical procedures, such as intranodal vaccinations have demonstrated the need for an accurate knowledge of the degenerative processes of lymph nodes. It is thus deemed necessary to obtain a detailed insight into anatomical changes within the lymph node throughout life as age-related degeneration can have a strong impact on the outcome of these new therapeutic strategies. Aim To study the size and shape of the lymph nodes and to establish the age-dependent histoarchitectural changes in the lymph nodes in different age groups. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in a total of 35 axillary lymph nodes. The adult axillary group of lymph nodes were from subjects aged between 18 and 70 years. The fetal lymph nodes were collected from 8 stillborn fetuses between 37 and 42 weeks. Thickness of the cortex and diameter of the germinal centers were measured using ocular and stage micrometer. Results None of the fetal lymphocytic follicles showed evidence of a prominent germinal center. The germinal centers of young adults were not only more numerous but also larger in size when compared with the old. An age-related involution of the paracortical region was witnessed in the axillary lymph nodes. No evidence of lipomatous atrophy was encountered in any of the fetal lymph nodes. Interesting evidence of it was encountered in younger age groups. However, this was the most prominent feature in the older groups.


1986 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 575-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariano Urdiales-Viedma ◽  
Francisco Nogales-Fernandez ◽  
Sebastian Martos-Padilla ◽  
Emilio Sanchez-Cantalejo

The immnuohistochemical determination of immunoglobulins IgA, IgG and IgM in axillary lymph nodes from 50 unselected breast ductal carcinomas disclosed that lymph nodes with IgG-positive lymphoid follicles and/or metastasized lymph nodes with IgM-positive lymphoid cells are statistically related to breast tumors with a high histologic grade and more than 3 lymph node metastases.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document