Table 1. Patient Demographic and Clinical Data for Study Cohort With Univariable Comparison by Lymphedema Diagnosis.
| Variable | No. (%) | Univariable P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall (N = 1882) | No lymphedema (n = 1664) | Lymphedema (n = 218) | ||
| Age at surgery, mean (SD), y | 55.6 (12.2) | 55.7 (12.2) | 54.3 (12.1) | .08 |
| Height, mean (SD), cm | 162.7 (6.8) | 162.7 (6.8) | 162.6 (6.8) | .02 |
| Weight at surgery, mean (SD), kg | 71.0 (16.6) | 70.5 (16.4) | 75.0 (17.5) | <.001 |
| Body mass index at surgery, mean (SD)a | 26.8 (6.1) | 26.6 (6.0) | 28.4 (6.3) | <.001 |
| Weight change after surgery, mean (SD), kg | 1.1 (6.6) | 1.2 (6.4) | 1.0 (7.7) | .37 |
| Follow up, mean (SD), y | 3.9 (1.8) | 4.0 (1.7) | 3.8 (1.7) | .22 |
| Raceb | ||||
| Asian | 80 (4.3) | 70 (87.5) | 10 (12.5) | <.001 |
| Black | 190 (10.1) | 148 (77.9) | 42 (22.1) | |
| White | 1558 (82.8) | 1400 (89.9) | 158 (10.1) | |
| Other race | 54 (2.9) | 46 (85.2) | 8 (14.8) | |
| Breast surgery | ||||
| Mastectomy | 835 (55.6) | 706 (84.6) | 129 (15.5) | <.001 |
| BCT | 1047 (44.4) | 958 (91.5) | 89 (8.5) | |
| Lymphadenectomy | ||||
| ALND | 819 (43.5) | 633 (77.3) | 186 (22.7) | <.001 |
| SLNB | 1063 (56.5) | 1031 (97.0) | 32 (3.0) | |
| LNs removed, mean (SD) | 10.6 (10.0) | 9.5 (9.4) | 18.6 (10.2) | <.001 |
| Positive LNs, mean (SD) | 1.4 (3.8) | 1.2 (3.5) | 3.1 (5.0) | <.001 |
| Tumor size, mean (SD), cm | 1.8 (1.7) | 1.7 (1.6) | 2.4 (2.3) | <.001 |
| T stage | ||||
| T0 | 128 (6.8) | 122 (95.3) | 6 (4.7) | <.001 |
| T1 | 1105 (58.7) | 1012 (91.6) | 93 (8.4) | |
| T2 | 455 (24.2) | 378 (83.1) | 77 (28.4) | |
| T3 | 95 (5.1) | 68 (71.6) | 27 (28.4) | |
| T4 | 49 (2.6) | 42 (85.7) | 7 (14.3) | |
| NA | 50 (2.7) | 42 (84.0) | 8 (16.0) | |
| N stage | ||||
| N0 | 1130 (60.0) | 1079 (95.5) | 51 (4.5) | <.001 |
| N1 | 546 (29.0) | 436 (79.9) | 110 (20.2) | |
| N2 | 102 (5.4) | 74 (72.6) | 28 (27.5) | |
| N3 | 75 (4.0) | 52 (69.3) | 23 (30.7) | |
| NA | 29 (1.5) | 23 (79.3) | 6 (20.7) | |
| Any RT | 1412 (75.0) | 1232 (87.3) | 180 (12.8) | .006 |
| Any chemotherapy | 1226 (65.1) | 1034 (84.3) | 192 (15.7) | <.001 |
| Neoadjuvant chemotherapy | 391 (20.8) | 302 (77.2) | 89 (22.8) | <.001 |
| Current swelling | ||||
| Yes | 315 (16.7) | 168 (53.3) | 147 (46.7) | <.001 |
| No | 1468 (78.0) | 1403 (95.6) | 65 (4.4) | |
| Unknown | 99 (5.3) | 93 (93.9) | 6 (6.1) | |
| Previous infections | ||||
| Yes | 70 (3.7) | 53 (75.7) | 17 (24.3) | <.001 |
| No | 1704 (90.5) | 1508 (88.5) | 196 (11.5) | |
| Unknown | 108 (5.7) | 103 (95.4) | 5 (4.6) | |
Abbreviations: ALND, axillary lymph node dissection; BCT, breast-conserving therapy; LN, lymph node; NA, not available; RT, radiation therapy; SLNB, sentinel lymph node biopsy.
a
Calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared.
b
Race data were self-reported. The other race category included American Indian and Alaska Native, other race, patient refused to disclose, or unknown.