ReviewThe East African health research journal2019
Lymphoedema After Breast Cancer Treatment is Associated With Higher Body Mass Index: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Review in The East African health research journal, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of indocyanine green lymphography imaging for the diagnosis of primary lymphoedema.The British journal of radiology · 2025Pooled it
- Risk Factors for Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: An Umbrella Review.Annals of surgical oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Obese Patients Undergoing Implant-based Breast Reconstruction: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Lymphedema: current treatment strategies and future directions in tissue engineering.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Review
- Mechanisms and treatments of lymphedema.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Predictors of early arm lymphoedema in breast cancer patients treated with modified radical mastectomy -a prospective observational study.BMC surgery · 2025Observational
- Factors Predicting Treatment Adherence in Outpatients with Cancer-Related Edema: Decision Tree Analysis.Cancer management and research · 2024Article
- The effect of combined risk factors on breast cancer-related lymphedema: a study using decision trees.Breast cancer (Tokyo, Japan) · 2023Observational
- Immediate lymphatic reconstruction for the prevention of breast cancer-related lymphedema: an experience highlighting the importance of lymphatic anatomy.Plastic and aesthetic research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExcess body weight has been identified as an important risk factor for lymphoedema following breast cancer treatment, however it remains unclear how much risk increases as weight increases. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and risk of lymphoedema in breast cancer patients, and to estimate the level of risk by BMI category.
methodsWe conducted a systematic search of all articles published through May 2018 in PubMed and the Cochrane library. Studies that included data on BMI and lymphoedema in breast cancer patients were included in the meta-analysis. We compared risk of lymphoedema in BMI groups as: BMI<25 versus BMI≥25, BMI<25 versus BMI≥30, BMI≥25 to <30 versus BMI≥30, BMI<30 versus BMI≥30, BMI<25 versus BMI≥25 to BMI<30.
resultsAfter exclusion of ineligible studies, 57 studies were included in the meta-analysis. The mean difference in BMI between patients with lymphoedema compared to those without lymphoedema was 1.7 (95% CI, 1.3-2.2). Compared to patients with a BMI<25, risk of lymphoedema was higher in those with a BMI >25 to <30 (odds ratio [OR] 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2 to 1.5), a BMI≥25 (OR 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5 to 1.9), or a BMI≥30 (OR 1.9; 95% CI, 1.6 to 2.4). Compared to patients with a BMI of >25 to <30, risk of lymphoedema was higher in patients with a BMI>30 (OR 1.5; 95% CI,1.4 to 1.8).
conclusionExcess body weight is a risk factor for lymphoedema following treatment of breast cancer, with the magnitude of risk increasing across higher categories of BMI.
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.