Investigation of the effect of Low-Level Laser Therapy on arm lymphedema in breast cancer patients: A noninvasive treatment for an intractable morbidity.

Autor: Farhan F; Radiation Oncology Research Center (RORC), Cancer Institute Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Samei M; Radiation Oncology Research Center (RORC), Cancer Institute Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Abdshah A; School of Medicine Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran.; Department of Public Health Sciences Division of Biostatistics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Miami Florida USA., Kazemian A; Radiation Oncology Research Center (RORC), Cancer Institute Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Shahriarian S; Department of Radiology, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Amouzegar-Hashemi F; Radiation Oncology Research Center (RORC), Cancer Institute Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Farzin M; Brain and spinal cord injury research center, Neuroscience Institute Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Ghalehtaki R; Radiation Oncology Research Center (RORC), Cancer Institute Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Jafari F; Radiation Oncology Research Center (RORC), Cancer Institute Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran.; Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Institute, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran., Cuccia F; Advanced Radiation Oncology Department Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital Negrar Veneto Italy.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Health science reports [Health Sci Rep] 2023 May 17; Vol. 6 (5), pp. e1261. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 May 17 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.1261
Abstrakt: Purpose: This article aims to study the effect of Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) on arm lymphedema in patients who have breast cancer.
Methods and Materials: Twenty-three patients were selected in a nonrandomized phase-2 clinical trial. After measuring the circumference of the affected and unaffected limbs at 6-points, the volume of the limbs, the degree of mental symptoms on visual analog scale by the patient upon entering the study, and performing an ultrasound on the patient's axilla to locate the fibrotic areas, a low-level laser device at a therapeutic dose of 2 J/cm 2 was used to treat the patients three times a week for 4 weeks, and after an 8-week gap, for another similar period. Measurement of circumference and volume of affected and unaffected limbs and mental symptoms were carried out at the end of the 4th week, the beginning of the 12th week, and the end of the 16th week, and the obtained results were compared with those before the treatment.
Results: We noted that the average reductions in the circumference and volume of the affected limb, as compared with the unaffected limb, were about 16% and 21.7%, respectively, and improvement in the patient's mental symptoms was about 32%. Another notable observation was the great enthusiasm of most patients to continue their treatment, particularly from the second cycle onward.
Conclusions: LLLT can, at least in association with current standard methods, be used for arm lymphedema to introduce further reductions in pain and volume.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
(© 2023 The Authors. Health Science Reports published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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