Acute response to resistance exercise and later development of arm lymphedema in breast cancer survivors: An exploratory follow-up of a randomized cross-over trial

Background

In breast cancer survivors at risk for lymphedema, variation in lymphatic function and arm volume has been observed related to a bout of exercise, with potential for prediction of breast cancer-related arm lymphedema (BCRaL). This novel, exploratory study examined the acute lymphatic response to resistance exercise and later development of BCRaL in women at high risk for BCRaL.

Methods

One year after participation in a cross-over trial evaluating the acute lymphatic response to upper-extremity resistance exercise (low-and heavy-load), participants were assessed for BCRaL (n ​= ​16). The response to exercise was assessed before and after (post, 24- and 72-hrs) each exercise bout as extracellular fluid (L-Dex; bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS)), interarm volume % difference (IVD; Dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA)) and symptoms (Numeric rating scale, 0–10 (NRS)). BCRaL at follow-up was defined as presence of one objective indicator (L-Dex >10, change ≥+6.5, IVD >5%) plus one objective or subjective indicator (interarm symptom ≥1 or visual inspection). Descriptive statistics were used to compare the acute response between participants with and without BCRaL at follow-up.

Results

No trends indicating a similar acute response to exercise was observed in participants who later developed BCRaL (n ​= ​5). There were no observable differences in acute lymphatic response between participants that developed BCRaL and those who did not, both at an individual and group level.

Conclusions

Findings from this exploratory study showed no evidence to suggest that the acute response to resistance exercise can predict BCRaL development.