Breast Cancer With Chronic Lymphedema Clinical Trial
Official title:
Acupuncture for Chronic Lymphedema: A Randomized Wait-list Controlled Trial
This study is being done because women have arm swelling for more than 6 months despite
wrapping and other treatments. This swelling is called lymphedema. It is the back up of lymph
system fluid that causes swelling in the arm. The swelling can just happen, but more commonly
it is caused when lymph nodes are removed during cancer surgery. It can develop right after
breast cancer treatment or weeks, months or even years later. In our preliminary research,
the investigators found that more than 1/3 of the 33 patients showed at least a 30% reduction
in lymphedema following acupuncture treatment and there were no serious adverse events during
the treatment or 6 month followup.
This study will include a larger group of patients. Patients will be assigned to one of two
groups, and results of the groups will be compared to see if acupuncture can reduce
lymphedema and whether the effect lasts after acupuncture treatment is completed.
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