Laser treatment seems to ameliorate post-mastectomy lymphedema

Treatment with a low-power laser seems to relieve about a third of cases of chronic arm lymphedema related to mastectomy, new research indicates.

“It’s not a quick fix, but it does seem to help in some people and is not invasive,” Dr. Colin J. Carati told Reuters Health. Low-level laser treatment has proved effective in improving wound healing and scarring, “so we decided to give it a try in lymphedema,” explained Carati, who is at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. In the trial, 61 women who had had a mastectomy were randomly assigned to receive one or two cycles of laser therapy or a sham therapy using a disabled laser. Laser therapy did not have an immediate effect on symptoms, but 2 to 3 months later, women who had undergone two cycles of laser therapy were more likely to experience improvements than women given the sham treatment, the researchers report in the September 15th issue of Cancer. Swelling was reduced in 31% of women in the laser group. Despite the reduction in swelling, laser therapy did not seem to improve the range of movement in the arm, according to the report. Also, there was no significant difference between the groups in quality of life and the ability to perform daily activities. Exactly how low-level lasers may relieve lymphedema remains a mystery, according to Dr. Carati. One possibility, he said, is that the laser has an effect at the cellular level, “possibly encouraging cells to work harder.”According to the Australian researcher, lasers are rarely used to treat lymphedema outside of Australia. However, the treatment is under consideration by the U.S. Food and Drug and Administration, he said. The study was funded by an Australian government grant to Flinders University and RIAN Corporation, which makes the laser used in the study. (Source: Cancer 2003;l98:1114-1122: Reuters Health: Merritt McKinney: October 10, 2003: Oncolink)