DISCUSSION
The increased use of screening mammography has been associated
with a substantial decrease in the size of primary breast
cancers at diagnosis. As a result, fewer women diagnosed with
primary breast cancer have axillary node involvement. In turn,
more women with breast cancer diagnoses are living with the
expectation that their cancer will not be the reason for their
death. They concentrate on minimizing the side effects of treatment
and improving health-related quality of life for the decades
that remain in their lives (67). Although arm edema is rarely
life-threatening, the problem has substantial prevalence. It is
often painful, limits function, and increases the risk of infection.
Moreover, it is associated with psychological morbidity.
Risk factors for the development of arm edema following
breast cancer therapy relate primarily to the degree of interruption
of the axillary lymph system by surgery or radiation
therapy. There is a need for better understanding of the prevalence
and morbidity of arm edema in population-based studies
that are stratified by type of surgical intervention. Particular
attention should be paid to the incidence of arm edema following
sentinel node biopsy as compared with that following more traditional
axillary node dissection. The ongoing randomized trials
of sentinel node biopsy (e.g., National Surgical Adjuvant Breast
and Bowel Project B-32) (111), which include prospective
evaluation of arm edema, arm mobility, and self-reported symptoms
should provide prospective data on the incidence, prevalence,
and natural history of this problem with different treatments.