Clinical trial · Interventional
Manual Lymphatic Drainage Versus Standard Treatment for the Prevention of Breast Cancer-related Lymphoedema in Patients Who Undergo Axillary Node Clearance
Does a Regime of Manual Lymphatic Drainage Reduce the Incidence of Breast Cancer-related Lymphoedema Following Axillary Node Clearance: a Randomised Controlled Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Axillary lymph nodes are the main site of metastasis in breast cancer. If positive axillary lymph nodes are present, an axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) is usually performed. This procedure improves disease-free survival but comes with the risk of lymphoedema as a result of disrupted lymphatic channels. Breast cancer-related lymphoedema (BCRL) is associated with considerable morbidity, which is why proven measures to reduce its incidence would improve patient outcomes. We aimed to investigate whether a regime of manual lymphatic drainage and exercise, supervised by a manual lymphatic drainage therapist compared to standard care would reduce the incidence of breast cancer-related lymphoedema in patients undergoing ALND.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer Related Lymphoedema | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (2)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decongestive lymphatic therapy (DLT) | Combination Product | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Standard Care | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Control group
- description
- Control group will have standard of care, consisting of verbal and written information on lymphoedema prevention and standard access to breast care nurse.
- interventionNames
- Other: Standard Care
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Combination product
- description
- Decongestive lymphatic therapy (DLT). DLT group will involve manual lymphatic drainage with a trained manual lymphatic drainage therapist.
- interventionNames
- Combination Product: Decongestive lymphatic therapy (DLT)
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Absolute difference in arm volumes
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Maximum age
- 120 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion criteria: * Patients with a new diagnosis of primary operable breast cancer * Surgery will involve axillary lymph node clearance Exclusion criteria: * Patients with recurrent breast cancer * Patients with previous axillary surgery * Patients with previous axillary radiotheraphy * Patients with previous arm/axillary pathology leading to arm volume changes
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available