Recent advances on the treatment of breast cancer-related lymphedema

VernacularTitle: 乳腺癌术后上肢淋巴水肿的治疗进展
Author: Chenglong WANG ¹ ; Jie LUAN ; Dali MU ; Minqiang XIN
Author Information

1. Eighth Department, Plastic Surgery Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100144, China
Publication Type:Review
Keywords: Breast neoplasms; Lymphedema; Therapy
From: Chinese Journal of Plastic Surgery 2018;34(7):578-582
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Breast cancer-related lymphedema is a chronic, progressive disease that occurs following axillary lymph node dissection. Treatment includes nonsurgical, surgical and biological engineering strategies. Conservative method are mainly used for prevention and in cases of subclinical lymphedema. Surgical options can be divided into two categories: reductive surgery and physiologic surgery. Biological engineering strategies use tissue engineering, stem cells and growth factors to automatically restore the lymphatic vessels. All the aforementioned techniques are not curative and, consequently, further research is imperative to establish a better regiman in management of lymphedema.