Trial reportJCI insight2018
Pilot studies demonstrate the potential benefits of antiinflammatory therapy in human lymphedema.
Trial report in JCI insight, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 69 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Placebo-controlled, Case-controlled, Open Label Therapeutic Trial for Unilateral or Bilateral Lymphedema of Arm or Leg.
Characterization of Treatment Responses in Lymphedema
Multi Center Lymphedema Treatment Registry (LET) Study
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 123 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacotherapy agents in prevention and treatment of breast cancer-related lymphedema: a systematic scoping review.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Acupuncture Treatment for Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Randomized Pilot Study.Lymphatic research and biology · 2023Trial
- Lymphatic Endothelial Cells in Health and Disease.MedComm · 2026Review
- Tissue Sodium Response to Complete Decongestive Therapy in Lower Extremity Lymphedema.Lymphatic research and biology · 2026Article
- Critical role of keratinocytes and protease-activated receptor 2 in secondary lymphedema development.Clinical and translational medicine · 2026Article
- [Skin alterations and tissue reactions in lymphedema].Dermatologie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Comprehensive overview of management and risk assessment of breast cancer-related lymphedema: a multidisciplinary approach.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- M2 macrophage-derived exosomes improves secondary lymphedema through cellular mitochondrial homeostasis regulation via the Keap1-Nrf2/mPTP axis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- AI-Empowered Mechanomedicine for Cancer-Related Lymphedema.Research (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Review
- Molecular determinants of cardiac lymphatic dysfunction in a chronic pressure-overload model.EMBO molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Therapeutic targeting of local metabolic dysfunction in secondary lymphedema: mechanisms and opportunities.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Review
- Lymphedema: current treatment strategies and future directions in tissue engineering.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Article
- Predictors of early arm lymphoedema in breast cancer patients treated with modified radical mastectomy -a prospective observational study.BMC surgery · 2025Observational
- Lymphedema as a Meteoropathic Disease: A Preliminary Single-center Retrospective Study.Journal of plastic and reconstructive surgery · 2025Article
- Moving toward a better understanding of renal lymphatics: challenges and opportunities.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2025Review
- Clinical Relevance of Animal Models of Lymphatic Dysfunction and Lymphedema.Microcirculation (New York, N.Y. : 1994) · 2025Review
- Understanding the Lymphatic System: Tissue-on-Chip Modeling.Annual review of biomedical engineering · 2025Review
- Similarities and differences in the clinical features and management of primary lymphedema and kaposiform hemangioendothelioma associated with lymphedema in children.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2025Article
9 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLymphedema is a common condition affecting millions around the world that still lacks approved medical therapy. Because ketoprofen, an NSAID, has been therapeutic in experimental lymphedema, we evaluated its efficacy in humans.
methodsWe first performed an exploratory open-label trial. Patients with either primary or secondary lymphedema received ketoprofen 75 mg by mouth 3 times daily for 4 months. Subjects were evaluated for changes in histopathology, with skin thickness, limb volume, and tissue bioimpedance changes serving as secondary endpoints. Based on our encouraging findings, we next conducted a placebo-controlled trial, with the primary outcome defined as a change in skin thickness, as measured by skin calipers. Secondary endpoints for this second study included histopathology, limb volume, bioimpedance, and systemic inflammatory mediators.
resultsWe enrolled 21 lymphedema patients in the open-label trial, from November 2010 to July 2011. Histopathology and skin thickness were significantly improved at 4 months compared with baseline. In the follow-up, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we enrolled 34 patients from August 2011 to October 2015, with 16 ketoprofen recipients and 18 placebo-treated subjects. No serious adverse events occurred. The ketoprofen recipients demonstrated reduced skin thickness, as well as improved composite measures of histopathology and decreased plasma granulocyte CSF (G-CSF) expression.
conclusionThese 2 exploratory studies together support the utility of targeted antiinflammatory therapy with ketoprofen in patients with lymphedema. Our results highlight the promise of such approaches to help restore a failing lymphatic circulation.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02257970.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.