The Effects of Obesity on Lymphatic Pain and Swelling in Breast Cancer Patients.

Mei Rosemary Fu,Eunjung Ko,Melissa L Mcternan,Jeanna M Qiu,Cherlie Magny-Normilus,Deborah Axelrod,Yao Wang,Zhuzhu Zhou,Joan Scagliola,Amber Guth

doi:10.3390/biomedicines9070818

Abstract

: BackgroundLymphatic pain and swelling due to lymph fluid accumulation are the most common and debilitating long-term adverse effects of cancer treatment. This study aimed to quantify the effects of obesity on lymphatic pain, arm, and truncal swelling. Methods: A sample of 554 breast cancer patients were enrolled in the study. Body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, and body fat mass were measured using a bioimpedance device. Obesity was defined as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. The Breast Cancer and Lymphedema Symptom Experience Index was used to measure lymphatic pain, arm, and truncal swelling. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) to quantify the effects of obesity. Results: Controlling for clinical and demographic characteristics as well as body fat percentage, obesity had the greatest effects on lymphatic pain (OR 3.49, 95% CI 1.87–6.50; p < 0.001) and arm swelling (OR 3.98, 95% CI 1.82–4.43; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Obesity is a significant risk factor for lymphatic pain and arm swelling in breast cancer patients. Obesity, lymphatic pain, and swelling are inflammatory conditions. Future study should explore the inflammatory pathways and understand the molecular mechanisms to find a cure.

Highlights

Obesity is the accumulation of body fat and an inflammatory condition [1,2,3,4]
We found that patients with obesity suffered the greatest odds of having lymphatic pain compared to clinical risk factors of having radiotherapy and more lymph nodes removed and demographic risk factor of having financial hardship
Lymphatic pain, and arm swelling are inflammatory pathological conditions [4,17,18], future research should explore the inflammatory pathways and understand the molecular mechanisms to find a cure for lymphatic pain and swelling, even for lymphedema

Summary

Introduction

Obesity is the accumulation of body fat and an inflammatory condition [1,2,3,4]. Obesity increases the risk of diagnosis and poor prognosis of breast cancer [5,6,7] and the risk of developing long-term and debilitating adverse effects of cancer treatment [8,9]. Lymphatic pain and swelling due to lymph fluid accumulation are the most common and debilitating long-term adverse effects of cancer treatment that negatively impact breast cancer patients’ quality of life [10,11]. Over 90% of women treated for breast cancer have achieved five-year survival due to advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment [12,13].

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