Brachial plexopathy after breast cancer: A persistent late effect of radiotherapy.

Abstract

Radiation-induced brachial plexopathy (RIBP) is an iatrogenic, progressively disabling, and often very late effect of adjuvant radiotherapy most commonly seen in breast cancer survivors but also in those treated for lymphoma, lung, and head and neck cancers. In late-onset RIBP following breast cancer, the nerve injury is chronic and irreversible, occurring more commonly when axillary and/or supraclavicular nodes have been irradiated, as well as the breast/chest wall. RIBP is manifested initially by paresthesia, hypoesthesia, dysesthesia, and later by weakness in the ipsilateral hand with those symptoms progressing distally to proximally up through the shoulder. Depressed/absent deep tendon reflexes in the upper extremity and muscle fasciculations occur also. Neither patients nor their health care providers tend to associate these unusual neurological symptoms with cancer treatments received ≥20 years prior, often failing to link these sensory-motor symptoms with radiotherapy decades before. Because long-term follow-up of these patients now typically falls to general practitioners, many cases may be missed or misdiagnosed because of the rarity of this disorder. Physiatrists and allied rehabilitation professionals must be aware of this progressively disabling, incurable condition to provide appropriate diagnoses and compensatory rehabilitation therapies. Additionally, professional oncology organizations should include RIBP in their long-term, survivorship guidelines for breast cancer. Researchers examining the iatrogenic late effects of radiotherapy should extend their follow-up periods well beyond the current 5-6 years to ascertain the true incidence of RIBP today. Rehabilitation providers must continue to advocate for awareness, diagnosis, and management of iatrogenic outcomes experienced by long-term cancer survivors.