Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34021179›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2021

Self-reported symptoms of arm lymphedema and health-related quality of life among female breast cancer survivors.

Kayo Togawa, Huiyan Ma, Ashley Wilder Smith, Marian L Neuhouser, Stephanie M George, Kathy B Baumgartner, Anne McTiernan, Richard Baumgartner, Rachel M Ballard, Leslie Bernstein

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 9% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Kayo TogawaDepartment of Population Sciences, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA. togawak@iarc.fr.ORCID 0000-0001-6470-7775
Huiyan MaDepartment of Population Sciences, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA.
Ashley Wilder SmithDivision of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Marian L NeuhouserDivision of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
Stephanie M GeorgeOffice of Disease Prevention, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Kathy B BaumgartnerDepartment of Epidemiology and Population Health, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
Anne McTiernanDivision of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
Richard BaumgartnerDepartment of Epidemiology and Population Health, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
Rachel M BallardOffice of Disease Prevention, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Leslie BernsteinDepartment of Population Sciences, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA.
City of Hope · USFred Hutch Cancer Center · USNational Institutes of Health · USUniversity of Louisville · USNational Cancer Institute · US

Funding

World Health Organization 001
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We examined cross-sectional associations between arm lymphedema symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the Health, Eating, Activity and Lifestyle (HEAL) Study. 499 women diagnosed with localized or regional breast cancer at ages 35-64 years completed a survey, on average 40 months after diagnosis, querying presence of lymphedema, nine lymphedema-related symptoms, e.g., tension, burning pain, mobility loss, and warmth/redness, and HRQoL. Analysis of covariance models were used to assess HRQoL scores in relation to presence of lymphedema and lymphedema-related symptoms. Lymphedema was self-reported by 137 women, of whom 98 were experiencing lymphedema at the time of the assessment. The most common symptoms were heaviness (52%), numbness (47%), and tightness (45%). Perceived physical health was worse for women reporting past or current lymphedema than those reporting no lymphedema (P-value < 0.0001). No difference was observed for perceived mental health (P-value = 0.31). Perceived physical health, stress, and lymphedema-specific HRQoL scores worsened as number of symptoms increased (P-values ≤ 0.01). Women reporting tension in the arm had lower physical health (P-value = 0.01), and those experiencing burning pain, tension, heaviness, or warmth/redness in the arm had lower lymphedema-specific HRQoL (P-values < 0.05). Treatment targeting specific lymphedema-related symptoms in addition to size/volume reduction may improve some aspects of HRQoL among affected women.

Indexed as

ArmCancer SurvivorsQuality of LifeSelf ReportAdultAgedBreast Cancer LymphedemaDisease ManagementFearFemaleHumansMental HealthMiddle AgedPatient Outcome AssessmentPsychological DistressPublic Health Surveillance

Identifiers

PMID34021179
PMCPMC8139966
OpenAlexW3163344483

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.