Prevention of Lymphedema Among Breast Cancer Patients Through Implementation of an Integrative Therapy Program (ITP)

Lymphedema Clinical Trial

Official title:

Prevention of Secondary Lymphedema by Utilizing Self-management Education in Conjunction With Acupuncture Among Breast Cancer Patients Who Are at High Risk of Developing Lymphedema

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02528539
• Other study ID #: HMH2015.002
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 2013
• Est. completion date: December 30, 2016

Study information

• Verified date: February 2022
• Source: Huntington Memorial Hospital
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Introduction: Breast cancer women who are treated with axillary node dissection are at increased risk for lymphedema - the lifetime risk in these women is estimated at 15-50% and the risk can significantly increase with chemotherapy and radiation therapy

Objectives:

1. To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing the integrative therapy program (ITP) intervention. ITP consists of self-management education in conjunction with acupuncture.

2. To determine if ITP affects quality of life, self-efficacy, lymphedema knowledge, pain, and early detection and management of lymphedema.

Design: the exploratory study aims to evaluate the feasibility and benefits of the integrative therapy program (ITP) intervention post-operatively for 18 months.

Subjects: Women with breast cancer treated with axillary node dissection with normal baseline pre-operative bioimpedance (L-dex U400) score.

Sample size: 30 subjects

Description:

Recruitment and Intervention:

The study participants are recruited by their breast surgeon after they undergo axillary node dissection surgery. 4-6 weeks following surgery, the participants will receive a combination of acupuncture and self management education .

Contents of self-management education include:

1. Lymphedema knowledge: functions of the lymphatic system, anatomy of the lymph nodes and direction of the lymphatic drainage, risk factors that could precipitate lymphedema, the signs and symptoms of lymphedema and infection, and lymphedema resources.

2. Selfcare techniques:healthy diet (eating whole food encouraged), neck, shoulder and chest wall stretching exercises, walk daily, self-manual lymphatic drainage with deep breathing techniques, and self-acupressure over eighteen months following their surgery.

Outcome measurements include: L-Dex U400 measurement, arm circumference, pain scale, self-efficacy, and lymphedema knowledge, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast FACT-B.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 10
• Est. completion date: December 30, 2016
• Est. primary completion date: August 30, 2015
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Subjects must be able to read and understand the informed consent form and have the capacity to give consent.

2. Adults age 18 and older

3. Subject with a newly diagnosed stage I-III breast cancer with a documented pre-operative baseline L-Dex U400 who underwent axillary lymph node dissection within 4-6 weeks prior to enrollment.

4. Subjects must be able to return to the study site for the duration of the study (18 months).

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Subjects who do not read or understand the informed consent are ineligible.

2. Subjects who have any contraindications to the affected upper-limb exercises, which include congestive heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia, deep vein thrombosis, infectious disease complications such as cellulitis and lymphangitis.

3. Women with double mastectomy with axillary node dissection bilaterally.

4. Women with a prior history of axillary surgeries in the ipsilateral side and/or primary lymphedema

5. Women with metal implants (e.g. shoulder replacement) or cardiac implants (e.g. automated implanted cardiac defibrillator (AICD) or pacemaker).

6. All subjects with objective or subjective signs and symptoms of lymphedema.

7. Women of childbearing age who are pregnant.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Lymphedema

Intervention

Other:
• ITP
The study participants will receive weekly acupuncture treatment plus education on self-management for 10 weeks after axillary node dissection, then a total of five follow up acupuncture treatments once every 3 months at 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months. The education and self management will be reinforced monthly by telephone visit. Acupuncture points include: LI 4, LV3, HT3, SP9, GB 20, KD 3, Yintang, and Ashi points

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Huntington Memorial Hospital	Pasadena	California

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Huntington Memorial Hospital

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (24)

Armer JM, Brooks CW, Stewart BR. Limitations of self-care in reducing the risk of lymphedema: supportive-educative systems. Nurs Sci Q. 2011 Jan;24(1):57-63. doi: 10.1177/0894318410389058. — View Citation

Armer JM, Shook RP, Schneider MK, Brooks CW, Peterson J, Stewart BR. Enhancing Supportive-Educative Nursing Systems to Reduce Risk of Post-Breast Cancer Lymphedema. Self Care Depend Care Nurs. 2009 Oct;17(1):6-15. — View Citation

Beaulac SM, McNair LA, Scott TE, LaMorte WW, Kavanah MT. Lymphedema and quality of life in survivors of early-stage breast cancer. Arch Surg. 2002 Nov;137(11):1253-7. — View Citation

Binkley JM, Harris SR, Levangie PK, Pearl M, Guglielmino J, Kraus V, Rowden D. Patient perspectives on breast cancer treatment side effects and the prospective surveillance model for physical rehabilitation for women with breast cancer. Cancer. 2012 Apr 15;118(8 Suppl):2207-16. doi: 10.1002/cncr.27469. Review. — View Citation

Bodenheimer T, Lorig K, Holman H, Grumbach K. Patient self-management of chronic disease in primary care. JAMA. 2002 Nov 20;288(19):2469-75. — View Citation

Cassileth BR, Van Zee KJ, Chan Y, Coleton MI, Hudis CA, Cohen S, Lozada J, Vickers AJ. A safety and efficacy pilot study of acupuncture for the treatment of chronic lymphoedema. Acupunct Med. 2011 Sep;29(3):170-2. doi: 10.1136/aim.2011.004069. Epub 2011 Jun 18. — View Citation

Cemal Y, Pusic A, Mehrara BJ. Preventative measures for lymphedema: separating fact from fiction. J Am Coll Surg. 2011 Oct;213(4):543-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2011.07.001. Epub 2011 Jul 28. Review. — View Citation

Chang CJ, Cormier JN. Lymphedema interventions: exercise, surgery, and compression devices. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2013 Feb;29(1):28-40. doi: 10.1016/j.soncn.2012.11.005. Review. — View Citation

de Valois BA, Young TE, Melsome E. Assessing the feasibility of using acupuncture and moxibustion to improve quality of life for cancer survivors with upper body lymphoedema. Eur J Oncol Nurs. 2012 Jul;16(3):301-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ejon.2011.07.005. Epub 2011 Sep 13. — View Citation

Dibble SL, Chapman J, Mack KA, Shih AS. Acupressure for nausea: results of a pilot study. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2000 Jan-Feb;27(1):41-7. — View Citation

DiSipio T, Rye S, Newman B, Hayes S. Incidence of unilateral arm lymphoedema after breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Oncol. 2013 May;14(6):500-15. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(13)70076-7. Epub 2013 Mar 27. Review. — View Citation

Dobos GJ, Kirschbaum B, Choi KE. The Western model of integrative oncology: the contribution of Chinese medicine. Chin J Integr Med. 2012 Sep;18(9):643-51. doi: 10.1007/s11655-012-1200-1. Epub 2012 Aug 31. — View Citation

Easom LR. Concepts in health promotion. Perceived self-efficacy and barriers in older adults. J Gerontol Nurs. 2003 May;29(5):11-9. — View Citation

Erickson VS, Pearson ML, Ganz PA, Adams J, Kahn KL. Arm edema in breast cancer patients. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001 Jan 17;93(2):96-111. Review. — View Citation

Hibbard JH, Greene J, Overton V. Patients with lower activation associated with higher costs; delivery systems should know their patients' 'scores'. Health Aff (Millwood). 2013 Feb;32(2):216-22. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1064. — View Citation

Langer I, Guller U, Berclaz G, Koechli OR, Schaer G, Fehr MK, Hess T, Oertli D, Bronz L, Schnarwyler B, Wight E, Uehlinger U, Infanger E, Burger D, Zuber M. Morbidity of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLN) alone versus SLN and completion axillary lymph node dissection after breast cancer surgery: a prospective Swiss multicenter study on 659 patients. Ann Surg. 2007 Mar;245(3):452-61. — View Citation

MacPherson H, Thomas K, Walters S, Fitter M. A prospective survey of adverse events and treatment reactions following 34,000 consultations with professional acupuncturists. Acupunct Med. 2001 Dec;19(2):93-102. — View Citation

Mansel RE, Fallowfield L, Kissin M, Goyal A, Newcombe RG, Dixon JM, Yiangou C, Horgan K, Bundred N, Monypenny I, England D, Sibbering M, Abdullah TI, Barr L, Chetty U, Sinnett DH, Fleissig A, Clarke D, Ell PJ. Randomized multicenter trial of sentinel node biopsy versus standard axillary treatment in operable breast cancer: the ALMANAC Trial. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 May 3;98(9):599-609. Erratum in: J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Jun 21;98(12):876. — View Citation

Meng Z, Garcia MK, Hu C, Chiang J, Chambers M, Rosenthal DI, Peng H, Zhang Y, Zhao Q, Zhao G, Liu L, Spelman A, Palmer JL, Wei Q, Cohen L. Randomized controlled trial of acupuncture for prevention of radiation-induced xerostomia among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer. 2012 Jul 1;118(13):3337-44. doi: 10.1002/cncr.26550. Epub 2011 Nov 9. — View Citation

Rottmann N, Dalton SO, Christensen J, Frederiksen K, Johansen C. Self-efficacy, adjustment style and well-being in breast cancer patients: a longitudinal study. Qual Life Res. 2010 Aug;19(6):827-36. doi: 10.1007/s11136-010-9653-1. Epub 2010 Apr 17. — View Citation

Stout Gergich NL, Pfalzer LA, McGarvey C, Springer B, Gerber LH, Soballe P. Preoperative assessment enables the early diagnosis and successful treatment of lymphedema. Cancer. 2008 Jun 15;112(12):2809-19. doi: 10.1002/cncr.23494. — View Citation

Vicini FA, Kestin L, Chen P, Benitez P, Goldstein NS, Martinez A. Limited-field radiation therapy in the management of early-stage breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Aug 20;95(16):1205-10. — View Citation

Yen TW, Fan X, Sparapani R, Laud PW, Walker AP, Nattinger AB. A contemporary, population-based study of lymphedema risk factors in older women with breast cancer. Ann Surg Oncol. 2009 Apr;16(4):979-88. doi: 10.1245/s10434-009-0347-2. Epub 2009 Feb 5. — View Citation

Zimmermann A, Wozniewski M, Szklarska A, Lipowicz A, Szuba A. Efficacy of manual lymphatic drainage in preventing secondary lymphedema after breast cancer surgery. Lymphology. 2012 Sep;45(3):103-12. — View Citation

* Note: There are 24 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Bioimpedance (L-dex U400)	use L-dex machine	18 months
Primary	Arm circumference measurements of the upper limbs using at 4 cm interval	measure the circumference in centimeters	18 months
Secondary	Self-Efficacy Scale	questionnaires	18 months
Secondary	Lymphedema Knowledge Scale	questionnaires	18 months
Secondary	Quality of Life (Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast)	survey	18 months
Secondary	Wong-Baker FACES Pain Scale	1-10 scale	18 months