Treatment of lymphedema in patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care: A single center experience

Purpose: Lymphedema can develop during the progression of neoplastic diseases and is a devastating complication in patients with cancer receiving palliative care. This study aimed to investigate the course of treatment for lymphedema in patients receiving palliative care to assess post-treatment outcomes. Methods This single-center, retrospective cohort study reviewed the maintained database of patients with lymphedema who presented to our department between January 2015 and December 2022. A combination of skin care, compression therapy, and lymphaticovenular anastomosis was used to treat lymphedema in patients with cancer receiving palliative care. The upper or lower extremity lymphedema indices, calculated based on five upper or four lower extremity circumferences and body mass index, were compared at the first and last visits. Results Of the 202 patients with lymphedema, 38 patients with 45 limbs (upper extremities: 11 patients, 12 limbs; lower extremities: 27 patients, 33 limbs) were included in the analysis. There were no significant changes in edema based on the upper or lower extremity lymphedema indices in the upper ( p  = 0.931) or lower extremities ( p  = 0.767) between the first and last visits. No pain relief was observed after the treatment. In the treatment differences, the rate of change in edema was − 3.6 ± 10.8% for the compression garment and + 5.7 ± 11.5% for the lymphaticovenular anastomosis, showing no significant difference ( p  = 0.157). Conclusion All treatments had limited therapeutic effects, such as reduced edema and pain relief, and there were no significant differences between them.