Lymph Canada: Health Watch

• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine receives $23 million March 8, 2007, from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a new method to control and treat lymphatic filariasis (tropical lymphedema)
• A simple and innovative device to measure arm volume at home for patients with lymphedema after breast cancer
• Reduction of edema of lower extremities through subcutaneous controlled drainage found to be helpful in Saskatchewan palliative care
• FDA clears laser-based lymphedema treatment
• "Unlocking the Drains:After centuries of playing second fiddle to the blood system, our lymphatic circulation is coming into its own as a key player in diseases ranging from cancer to asthma." July 28, 2005 Nature
• Lymphedema - an underestimated health problem, Q J Med 2003; 96:731–738:This journal article summarizes UK research which looked at lymphedema in South West London which has a population of over 600,000 people. Researchers found that in people over 65 years of age, 1 in 200 had chronic lymphedema. Lymphedema caused time off work in close to 80% of these individuals affecting the employment status in 9%. Quality of life was below normal, with 50% experiencing pain or discomfort from their edema.
• Obesity - a major predictive factor for arm edema in breast cancer: At the May 2, 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Disease (ASBD) Lucy K. Helyer, MD, surgical oncology fellow, Princess Margaret Hospital University Health Network in Canada reported on recent findings from their study which confirms earlier research in this area. Dr. Helyer followed 137 women with breast cancer who underwent sentinel node biopsy. Close to 36% of patients who were obese developed lymphedema in contrast to about 16% of overweight patients, about 7% of normal weight patients and none in underweight patients.
• Prevention and management of arm lymphedema in the patient with breast cancer, The Journal of Supportive Oncology, Sept. 2006: The advent of sentinel lymph node biopsy as an alternative to axillary dissection should decrease the rate of lymphedema. The increasing number of breast cancer survivors and high prevalence of the disease will continue to make lymphedema a significant consequence of breast cancer treatment.
• New Treatment Found for Advanced Cases of Lymphatic Filariasis (elephantiasis)An international team of researchers has demonstrated the effectiveness of an inexpensive antibiotic, doxycycline, which they say cures most cases of advanced elephantiasis. The antibiotic kills the parasite through indirect means by destroying a bacteria inside the filariasis worm, which the parasite relies on to survive. The study on doxycycline and lymphatic filariasis is published in the June 18, 2005 issue of the medical journal, The Lancet. (Taylor MJ, Makunde WH, McGarry HF, Turner JD, Mand S, Hoerauf A. (2005). Macrofilaricidal activity after doxycycline treatment of Wuchereria bancrofti: a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 365 (9477), 2116-21.) For more information you can contact Dr. Taylor at: mark.taylor@liverpool.ac.uk
• Could hyperbaric oxygen therapy be helpful in regenerating post-breast cancer treatment tissue and reducing lymphedema?A non-randomized study of 21 research volunteers which showed some improvement in their condition, suggests that further randomized research is called for. Radiotherapy Oncology. 2004 March; 70(3):217-24. Non-randomized phase II trial of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in patients with chronic arm lymphoedema and tissue fibrosis after radiotherapy for early breast cancer.
• The treatment of lymphedema related to breast cancer: a systematic review and evidence summary: Supportive Care in Cancer, June 2004. Cancer Care Ontario's Supportive Guidelines Group (SCGG) employed a systematic review methodology to guide clinical decision making. They found some evidence to suggest compression therapy and manual lymphatic drainage may improve established lymphedema, but further study is needed. Stabilization and/or modest improvement can be expected with daily wear of compression garments morning to night (removing them at bedtime). The use of diuretics was not found to be effective.
• Cross Cancer Institute in Alberta finds compression bandaging effective; MLD useful in mild lymphedema
• New Brunswick research explores women's experience with breast cancer-related lymphedema
• Canadian scientist Jack Hay reports on the U.S. think tank on lymphatic researchand talks about his own research into the traffic of lymphocytes.
• Challenging the Myth of Exercise-Induced Lymphedema Following Breast Cancer: A series of case reports, a Vancouver study published in June 2000 in the Journal of Surgical Oncology.
• Adjuvant Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy in Node-Positive Premenopausal Women with Breast Cancer Vol. 337:956-962, No. 14, 1997, New England Journal of Medicine. Joseph Ragaz et al, the Department of Medical Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, 1997. The study reported on the increased rates of survival in women who receive radiation and chemotherapy - and also tracked the incidence of lymphedema in these women.
• Wolbachia endosymbiotic bacteria of filarial nematodes. A new insight into disease pathogenesis and control: Taylor MJ, Division of Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK published in Arch Med Res 2002 Jul-Aug;33(4):422-4. A new approach to the treatment of filariasis. Taylor MJ, Hoerauf A.Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK. published in Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2001 Dec;14(6):717-8. These two research papers suggest that antibiotics can be effective in fighting lymphatic filariasis.
• Two researchers look at standardizing measurements to improve data from clinical studies on the effectiveness of treatment options
• Physical Therapist Management of Lymphedema Following Treatment for Breast Cancer: a critical review of its effectiveness, Physical Therapy, Vol. 78, No. 12, Dec. 1998. Canadian research study finds compression garments alone effective in reducing limb size for breast cancer survivors.
• Pain in post breast cancer lymphedema. Dr. Michael Brennan discusses how persons with lymphedema can experience pain and what to do about it.