Evidence map›Paper›PMID 23347817›Full record

SynthesisWorld journal of surgical oncology2013

Effects of manual lymphatic drainage on breast cancer-related lymphedema: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Tsai-Wei Huang, Sung-Hui Tseng, Chia-Chin Lin, Chyi-Huey Bai, Ching-Shyang Chen, Chin-Sheng Hung, Chih-Hsiung Wu, Ka-Wai Tam

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in World journal of surgical oncology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02609724 (Effectiveness of Fluoroscopy-guided Manual Lymph Drainage), which is not on this map. Cited by 60 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
60citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
6.3field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02609724 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2016, after this paper: background citation

Effectiveness of Fluoroscopy-guided Manual Lymph Drainage (MLD) Versus Traditional MLD or Placebo MLD, as Part of Decongestive Lymphatic Therapy, for the Treatment of Breast Cancer-related Lymphoedema (BCRL): a Randomised Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversitaire Ziekenhuizen KU LeuvenRan2016 to 2020Enrolled194ConditionsBreast Neoplasm, LymphedemaArmsInformation, Skin care, Compression therapy, Fluoroscopy-guided MLD, Traditional MLD
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

60 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 175 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The diagnostic accuracy of soft tissue oedema measurements: a systematic review and best-evidence synthesis.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Pooled it
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  3. Manual lymphatic drainage treatment for lymphedema: a systematic review of the literature.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2021
    Pooled it
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  8. Manual lymphatic drainage for lymphedema following breast cancer treatment.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2015
    Pooled it
  9. Effectiveness of myofascial release after breast cancer surgery in women undergoing conservative surgery and radiotherapy: a randomized controlled trial.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2019
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Tsai-Wei HuangDivision of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. kelvintam@h.tmu.edu.tw.
Sung-Hui Tseng
Chia-Chin Lin
Chyi-Huey Bai
Ching-Shyang Chen
Chin-Sheng Hung
Chih-Hsiung Wu
Ka-Wai Tam
Taipei Medical University Hospital · TWTaipei Medical University · TWHungkuang University · TWTaipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital · TW

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLymphedema is a common complication of axillary dissection for breast cancer. We investigated whether manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) could prevent or manage limb edema in women after breast-cancer surgery.

methodsWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness of MLD in the prevention and treatment of breast-cancer-related lymphedema. The PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), SCOPUS, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials electronic databases were searched for articles on MLD published before December 2012, with no language restrictions. The primary outcome for prevention was the incidence of postoperative lymphedema. The outcome for management of lymphedema was a reduction in edema volume.

resultsIn total, 10 RCTs with 566 patients were identified. Two studies evaluating the preventive outcome of MLD found no significant difference in the incidence of lymphedema between the MLD and standard treatment groups, with a risk ratio of 0.63 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.14 to 2.82. Seven studies assessed the reduction in arm volume, and found no significant difference between the MLD and standard treatment groups, with a weighted mean difference of 75.12 (95% CI, -9.34 to 159.58).

conclusionsThe current evidence from RCTs does not support the use of MLD in preventing or treating lymphedema. However, clinical and statistical inconsistencies between the various studies confounded our evaluation of the effect of MLD on breast-cancer-related lymphedema.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsDrainageLymphedemaPostoperative ComplicationsFemaleHumansPrognosisRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Identifiers

PMID23347817
PMCPMC3562193
OpenAlexW2146512415

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.