Measuring Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

Abstract

Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) presents as swelling in the arm, hand, trunk, or breast at varying times after completion of breast cancer treatment. The reported incidence of BCRL varies widely in part due to its dependence on the type and extent of the treatment, pre-treatment risk factors, and the criteria used to define its presence. Central to this issue are the various quantitative measures that are used to specify lymphedema thresholds for its detection and tracking over time and during treatment.The goal of this chapter is to discuss these issues and the methods available for the non-invasive quantitative assessment of BCRL. Operational principles, advantages and limitations of the various methods, their clinical history of use, and effectiveness are discussed. Covered methods include those used to assess and monitor lymphedema-related changes in tissue water at any anatomical site and also methods used to assess changes only in limbs.Note to the Reader: This chapter is part of the book Breast Cancer (ISBN: 978-0-6453320-3-2), scheduled for publication in July 2022. The book is being published by Exon Publications,

Identifying key regulatory genes in drug resistance acquisition: Modeling pseudotime trajectories of single-cell transcriptome

“…These processes can significantly influence target gene expressions. To address such complexity, we modeled individual gene expressions using an autoregulatory gene circuit widely used for modeling various biochemical processes ( Figure 3a ) [30, 31], which is exemplified by an ER-related signaling pathway ( Figure 3b ) [32-35]. This model operates under the assumptions that all genes are controlled by positive and negative feedback mechanisms, and the strength of this feedback control is determined by the mRNA levels and interactions among intracellular signals.…”

“…Our analysis revealed that 664, 558, and 680 genes exhibited multistability in C1, C3, and C4 subpopulations, respectively ( Figure 4a ). Notably, RPS6KB1 , a predictor of poor prognosis, cell survival, and growth in ER-positive breast cancers [40], exhibited bistability in both C1 and C4, implying that its low and high expression levels are regulated by a binary switch governing distinct cell fates.…”

Epidemiological characterization of hormonal receptor profiles and associated histopathological characteristics in Rwandan women with breast cancer: a retrospective study

“…Moreover, recently, Bliss et al showed the importance of Ki67 in treatment decision or in clinical trials when assessing a new treatment [43]. In this study, we opted to classify them based only on the express of HRs either both (luminal A) or 1 especially for luminal B and the absence of HER2 [12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…HER2-positive cells express HER-2 receptors and nearly 20% of all breast cancer cells over-express the HER2 protein and are thus optimally treated using drugs such as trastuzumab after chemotherapy to prevent a rebound of the disease. Triple positive breast cancer cells express ER and/or PR, and HER-2 receptors while triple negative cells do not express any of the 3 receptors [12][13][14][15][16].…”

Epidemiological characterization of hormonal receptor profiles and associated histopathological characteristics in Rwandan women with breast cancer: a retrospective study

“…Accordingly, previous studies classified both luminal groups A and B focusing on the fact that Ki 67 is lowly express or highly expressed (<14 or >14; <20% or >20) [12,14,15]. We opted to classify them based on the express of HRs either both (luminal A) or 1 especially for luminal B and the absence of HER2 [11][12][13][14][15].…”