Abstract：
Background: We aimed to determine the course of arm swelling caused by the use of taxanes and to identify valid predictors of persistent swelling. Methods and Results: A total of 15 patients with unilateral arm swelling that developed during the course, or within 3 months after termination, of postoperative taxane-based chemotherapy were included in the present study. The patients attended follow-up appointments every 3-6 months for 24 months after their initial visit. Their arm circumference was measured at each follow-up appointment, while ultrasonography of the skin and subcutaneous tissues was performed at the 0-, 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-ups. Of the 15 patients, 12 (80%) saw their taxane-induced arm swelling resolved within a median of 12 months (range, 3-29 months) after their final taxane administration. Of the 12 patients whose swelling resolved, 9 did not use compression sleeves; however, their course of resolution did not differ from the other 3 patients who regularly used compression sleeves. In the three patients with persistent swelling, the excess subcutaneous thickness in the medial upper arm (median, 283%) was significantly greater than that in the patients whose swelling resolved (120%; p < 0.05) during their initial visits. Conclusions: Of the 15 patients included in the present study, 80% saw their taxane-induced arm swelling resolve within a median of 12 months after their final taxane administration, independent of the use of compression therapy. Persistent swelling may be predicted during the initial visit based on subcutaneous thickening of the medial upper arm.
摘要：
背景：我们旨在确定使用紫杉烷类引起的手臂肿胀的过程，并确定持续肿胀的有效预测因子。方法和结果：共有15例患者在此过程中出现单侧手臂肿胀，或在终止后3个月内，基于紫杉烷的术后化疗被纳入本研究。患者在初次就诊后每3-6个月参加随访预约，共24个月。在每次随访时测量他们的臂围，而皮肤和皮下组织的超声检查是在0-，6-，12-，和24个月的随访。在15名患者中，12（80％）的紫杉烷引起的手臂肿胀在12个月的中位数内解决（范围，3-29个月)在他们最后一次紫杉烷施用后。在12名肿胀消退的患者中，9没有使用压缩套筒；但是，他们的治疗过程与其他3例经常使用压缩袖的患者没有差异.在三名持续肿胀的患者中，上臂内侧多余的皮下厚度(中位数，283％）显着大于初次就诊时肿胀消退的患者（120％；p<0.05）。结论：在本研究纳入的15例患者中，80％的人看到他们的紫杉烷引起的手臂肿胀在最后一次紫杉烷给药后的中位数12个月内消退，独立于使用压缩疗法。可基于内侧上臂的皮下增厚在初次就诊期间预测持续肿胀。
