Table 3.
Head and neck lymphoedema prevalence and outcome measures by time point
| HNL type | 3 mths, n = 24 | 6 mths, n = 31 | 12 mths, n = 31 | p, 3 vs. 6 mths | p, 6 vs. 12 mths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No HNL | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Both external and internal HNLa | 71 (17) | 58 (18) | 10 (3) | ||
| Internal HNL only | 29 (7) | 42 (13) | 90 (28) | ||
| External HNL onlya | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.059 | <0.001b |
| External HNL outcome measures | |||||
| MDACC Scale (% (n)) | |||||
| No visible oedema (0) | 29 (7) | 42 (13) | 90 (28) | ||
| Soft visible oedema (1a) | 63 (15) | 48 (15) | 6 (2) | ||
| Soft pitting oedema (1b) | 8 (2) | 10 (3) | 3 (1) | 0.089 | <0.001b |
| TDC (Mean (SD)) | 29.8 (8.7) | 27.7 (9.6) | 21.3 (8.8) | 0.167 | 0.002c |
| Tape measurements (cm) (Mean (SD)) | |||||
| Lower neck | 42.3 (4.6) | 41.6 (3.7) | 40.5 (4.6) | 0.005 | 0.151c |
| Upper neck | 44.9 (5.2) | 43.6 (4.5) | 42.2 (4.9) | 0.019 | 0.220c |
| Ear to ear | 25.5 (1.9) | 26.0 (2.7) | 25.1 (2.1) | 0.028 | 0.032b |
| Weight (kg) (Mean (SD)) | 74.9 (16.1) | 76.3 (14.4) | 80.3 (12.4) | 0.903 | 0.010b |
| External HNL treatment (% (n)) | |||||
| Yes | 13 (3) | 26 (8) | 10 (3) | ||
| No | 88 (21) | 77 (24) | 90 (28) | 0.083 | 0.059b |
| Internal HNL outcome measures | |||||
| Maximum severity (all sites) (% (n)) | |||||
| Normal | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Mild | 4 (1) | 16 (5) | 35 (11) | ||
| Moderate | 38 (9) | 48 (15) | 48 (15) | ||
| Severe | 58 (14) | 35 (11) | 16 (5) | 0.011 | 0.013b |
| Sum severity (all sites) | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 18.9 (5.9) | 15.8 (7.7) | 9.7 (6.5) | ||
| Range | 10–28 | 6–32 | 2–29 | 0.009 | <0.001b |
| Number of sites (any severity) | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 10.5 (1.5) | 9.9 (2.2) | 7.0 (2.9) | ||
| Range | 7–12 | 5–13 | 2-12 | 0.022 | <0.001c |
| Number of sites (moderate/severe) | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 6.4 (3.1) | 4.5 (4.0) | 2.2 (2.9) | ||
| Range | 0–11 | 0–13 | 0–10 | 0.017 | <0.001c |
| Number of sites (severe) | |||||
| Mean (SD) | 2.0 (2.2) | 1.4 (2.3) | 0.5 (1.4) | ||
| Range | 0–6 | 0–9 | 0–7 | 0.053 | 0.007c |
| Internal site severity (Mod or Severe % (n)) | |||||
| Arytenoids | 67 (16) | 52 (16) | 29 (9) | 0.083 | 0.007b |
| Epiglottis | 63 (15) | 52 (16) | 35 (11) | 0.046 | 0.317b |
| Pharyngoepiglottic folds | 63 (15) | 45 (14) | 26 (8) | 0.020 | 0.002b |
| Aryepiglottic folds | 67 (16) | 42 (13) | 19 (6) | 0.020 | <0.001b |
| Valleculae | 67 (16) | 26 (8) | 10 (3) | 0.003 | 0.004b |
| Posterior pharyngeal wall | 54 (13) | 58 (18) | 29 (9) | 0.739 | 0.001b |
| Interarytenoid space | 58 (14) | 42 (13) | 23 (7) | 0.096 | 0.006b |
| Pyriform sinus | 50 (12) | 29 (9) | 10 (3) | 0.003 | <0.001b |
| Base of tongue | 42 (10) | 35 (11) | 23 (7) | 0.698 | 0.006b |
| Cricopharyngeal prominence | 58 (14) | 35 (11) | 16 (5) | 0.002 | 0.010b |
| False vocal folds | 29 (7) | 26 (8) | 0 | 0.364 | <0.001b |
| Anterior commissure | 17 (4) | 10 (3) | 3 (1) | 0.216 | 0.021b |
| True vocal folds | 4 (1) | 3 (1) | 0 | 0.583 | 0.317b |
Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding
HNL head and neck lymphoedema, MDACC MD Anderson cancer centre, TDC tissue dielectric constant, mths months, SD standard deviation, p p-value
aDetermined by the MDACC Scale rating only
bWilcoxon signed-rank test
cPaired t-test