Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31079232›Full record

Trial reportLasers in medical science2020

Complementary low-level laser therapy for breast cancer-related lymphedema: a pilot, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Laurie Kilmartin, Tara Denham, Mei R Fu, Gary Yu, Ting-Ting Kuo, Deborah Axelrod, Amber A Guth

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Lasers in medical science, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07072780 (Effectiveness of a Novel Low-level Laser Therapy Protocol in Managing Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema), which is not on this map. Cited by 22 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 14% 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.

NCT07072780 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

Effectiveness of a Novel Low-level Laser Therapy Protocol in Managing Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

TypeinterventionalSponsorPusan National University HospitalRan2023 to 2024Enrolled46ConditionsBreast CancerArmsLow-Level Laser Therapy (904 nm), Low-Level Laser Therapy (650 nm), Sham Laser Therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  19. Recent Trends in Rehabilitation for Cancer Patients.Annals of rehabilitation medicine · 2022
    Article
  20. Clinical use of photobiomodulation as a supportive care during radiation therapy.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022
    Article
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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Laurie KilmartinRusk Rehabilitation, Ambulatory Care Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
Tara DenhamRusk Rehabilitation, Ambulatory Care Center, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
Mei R FuRory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, 433 First Avenue, 4th Floor, Room 424, New York, NY, 10010, USA. mf67@nyu.edu.
Gary YuRory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, 433 First Avenue, 4th Floor, Room 424, New York, NY, 10010, USA.
Ting-Ting KuoMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
Deborah AxelrodDepartment of Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Amber A GuthDepartment of Surgery, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
New York University · USRusk Rehabilitation · USMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This pilot, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) as a complementary treatment to complete decongestive therapy (CDT) treating lymphedema among breast cancer patients for 12 months post-intervention. Study population was breast cancer patients who were diagnosed and referred to lymphedema clinic for CDT. Participants (n = 22) were randomized and assigned into either an active laser intervention group or an inactive laser placebo-control group. Active LLLT was administered to participants twice a week at the beginning of each CDT session. Outcome measures included lymphedema symptoms, symptom distress, and limb volume by an infrared perometer. Participants in the active and placebo laser groups were comparable in demographic and clinical predictors of lymphedema. In comparison with the placebo group (83.3%), significantly fewer participants in the active laser group (55.6%) reported more than one lymphedema symptom (p = 0.012) at 12 months post-intervention. Significantly, more patients in the active laser group (44.4%) reported less than two impaired limb mobility symptoms in comparison with the placebo group (33.3%) at 12 months post-intervention (p = 0.017). The active laser group had statistically significant improvements in symptom distress of sadness (p = 0.005) from 73 to 11% and self-perception (p = 0.030) from 36 to 0% over time from baseline to 12-months post-intervention. There was no significant reduction in limb volume. Findings of the trial demonstrated significant benefits of complementary LLLT for relieving symptoms and improvement of emotional distress in breast cancer patients with lymphedema.

Indexed as

Low-Level Light TherapyBreast NeoplasmsDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansLymphedemaMiddle AgedPatient CompliancePlacebosTreatment OutcomePlacebosBreast cancerLow-level laserLymphedemaQuality of lifeSymptoms

Identifiers

PMID31079232
OpenAlexW2944640955

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

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.