Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Experimental and Analytical Comparisons of Tissue Dielectric Constant (TDC) and Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (BIS) in Assessment of Early Arm Lymphedema in Breast Cancer Patients after Axillary Surgery and Radiotherapy

Lahtinen, Tapani ; Seppala, Jan ; Viren, Tuomas and Johansson, Karin LU (2015) In Lymphatic Research and Biology 13(3). p.176-185
Abstract
Background: Early diagnosis of breast cancer treatment-related lymphedema (BCRL) is of great importance for longstanding treatment results. Tissue dielectric constant (TDC) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) both have a potential for early diagnosis, but have not been compared. Methods and Results: One hundred women, treated for breast cancer with breast surgery, axillary dissection, and radiotherapy, were examined within one year after breast cancer treatment, as part of the follow-up procedure. Affected/at-risk and contralateral arms were measured with the TDC technique specific to localized skin water content and the BIS technique assessing arm extracellular fluid (ECF). Thirty-eight patients were clinically diagnosed for lymphedema... (More)
Background: Early diagnosis of breast cancer treatment-related lymphedema (BCRL) is of great importance for longstanding treatment results. Tissue dielectric constant (TDC) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) both have a potential for early diagnosis, but have not been compared. Methods and Results: One hundred women, treated for breast cancer with breast surgery, axillary dissection, and radiotherapy, were examined within one year after breast cancer treatment, as part of the follow-up procedure. Affected/at-risk and contralateral arms were measured with the TDC technique specific to localized skin water content and the BIS technique assessing arm extracellular fluid (ECF). Thirty-eight patients were clinically diagnosed for lymphedema (38.0%). The sensitivity and specificity for the TDC method were 65.8% and 83.9%, and for BIS method 42.1% and 93.5%, (p<0.001 and NS), respectively. Of all lymphedema, 18.4% were detected only by TDC and 2.6% by BIS. Affected arm to contralateral arm TDC ratios for upper arm and forearm, 1.560.49 and 1.28 +/- 0.33, demonstrating the localized feature of the TDC measurements were significantly greater than the BIS arm ratio 1.12 +/- 0.12 (both p<0.001). Conclusions: Discrepancies between TDC and BIS techniques in assessing lymphedema are related to different measurement techniques and assessed tissue water components. Independently of selected technique-specific threshold limit, the TDC technique was more sensitive than the BIS technique in the early assessment of BCRL and demonstrated that nearly 20% of early lymphedema are only superficially localized. The results further supported the complementary role of TDC and arm volume measurements as a highly diagnostic method for early lymphedema. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Lymphatic Research and Biology
volume
13
issue
3
pages
176 - 185
publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
external identifiers
  • pmid:26305554
  • wos:000361109400003
  • scopus:84941355030
  • pmid:26305554
ISSN
1539-6851
DOI
10.1089/lrb.2015.0019
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8a22c145-b8a7-4b7f-95c0-852dbcfc5f5c (old id 8077280)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:31:31
date last changed
2022-04-04 18:52:52
@article{8a22c145-b8a7-4b7f-95c0-852dbcfc5f5c,
  abstract     = {{Background: Early diagnosis of breast cancer treatment-related lymphedema (BCRL) is of great importance for longstanding treatment results. Tissue dielectric constant (TDC) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) both have a potential for early diagnosis, but have not been compared. Methods and Results: One hundred women, treated for breast cancer with breast surgery, axillary dissection, and radiotherapy, were examined within one year after breast cancer treatment, as part of the follow-up procedure. Affected/at-risk and contralateral arms were measured with the TDC technique specific to localized skin water content and the BIS technique assessing arm extracellular fluid (ECF). Thirty-eight patients were clinically diagnosed for lymphedema (38.0%). The sensitivity and specificity for the TDC method were 65.8% and 83.9%, and for BIS method 42.1% and 93.5%, (p&lt;0.001 and NS), respectively. Of all lymphedema, 18.4% were detected only by TDC and 2.6% by BIS. Affected arm to contralateral arm TDC ratios for upper arm and forearm, 1.560.49 and 1.28 +/- 0.33, demonstrating the localized feature of the TDC measurements were significantly greater than the BIS arm ratio 1.12 +/- 0.12 (both p&lt;0.001). Conclusions: Discrepancies between TDC and BIS techniques in assessing lymphedema are related to different measurement techniques and assessed tissue water components. Independently of selected technique-specific threshold limit, the TDC technique was more sensitive than the BIS technique in the early assessment of BCRL and demonstrated that nearly 20% of early lymphedema are only superficially localized. The results further supported the complementary role of TDC and arm volume measurements as a highly diagnostic method for early lymphedema.}},
  author       = {{Lahtinen, Tapani and Seppala, Jan and Viren, Tuomas and Johansson, Karin}},
  issn         = {{1539-6851}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{176--185}},
  publisher    = {{Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.}},
  series       = {{Lymphatic Research and Biology}},
  title        = {{Experimental and Analytical Comparisons of Tissue Dielectric Constant (TDC) and Bioimpedance Spectroscopy (BIS) in Assessment of Early Arm Lymphedema in Breast Cancer Patients after Axillary Surgery and Radiotherapy}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/lrb.2015.0019}},
  doi          = {{10.1089/lrb.2015.0019}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}