Table 5.
Univariate and multivariate analysis of characteristics associated with risk of mild swelling (5 ≤ 10 % RVC)
| Univariate results | Multivariate resultsc | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazard Ratio (95 % CI) | p value | Hazard Ratio (95 % CI) | p value | |
| Patient characteristics | ||||
| Age at surgery (years)a | 1.02 (1.01–1.03) | 0.0011 | 1.02 (1.01–1.03) | 0.0003 |
| Pre-operative BMIa (kg/m2) | 1.02 (1.00–1.04) | 0.1366 | 1.01 (0.99–1.03) | 0.4157 |
| Surgical characteristics | ||||
| Axillary surgery | ||||
| SLNB versus no axillary surgery | 0.90 (0.63–1.29) | 0.5631 | –b | – |
| ALND versus no axillary surgery | 1.36 (0.89–2.07) | 0.1527 | 1.35 (0.84–2.18) | 0.2188 |
| ALND versus SLNB/no axillary surgery | 1.48 (1.10–2.00) | 0.0105 | 1.47 (1.05–2.07) | 0.0266 |
| Pathologic characteristics | ||||
| Invasive vs. DCIS | 1.42 (0.99–2.04) | 0.0572 | 1.27 (0.87–1.84) | 0.2152 |
| Number positive lymph nodesa | 1.07 (1.03–1.11) | 0.0002 | 1.04 (0.99–1.00) | 0.0603 |
| Systemic therapy | ||||
| Adjuvant taxane-based chemo | ||||
| Yes versus no chemo | 1.31 (1.00–1.71) | 0.0512 | 1.33 (0.97–1.83) | 0.0778 |
| Yes versus non-taxane chemo | 1.86 (1.03–3.35) | 0.0398 | 1.74 (0.95–3.13) | 0.0732 |
| Paclitaxel | ||||
| Yes versus no-chemo | 1.16 (0.83–1.62) | 0.3882 | 1.13 (0.77–1.66) | 0.5428 |
| Yes versus non-taxane chemo | 1.65 (0.88–3.07) | 0.1163 | 1.49 (0.79–2.80) | 0.2174 |
| Docetaxel | ||||
| Yes versus no-chemo | 1.62 (1.13–2.32) | 0.0084 | 1.63 (1.13–2.36) | 0.0098 |
| Yes versus non-taxane chemo | 2.31 (1.21–4.38) | 0.0107 | 2.15 (1.13–4.09) | 0.0195 |
| Non-taxane chemotherapy | ||||
| Yes versus no chemo | 0.70 (0.40, 1.24) | 0.2265 | 0.75 (0.42–1.35) | 0.3473 |
| Hormonal therapy | ||||
| Yes versus no | 1.05 (0.78–1.41) | 0.7639 | – | – |
| Herceptin-based chemotherapy | ||||
| Yes versus no | 0.80 (0.50–1.30) | 0.3644 | – | – |
| Radiation therapy | ||||
| Yes versus no | 1.04 (0.77–1.40) | 0.8106 | – | – |
| RLNR versus breast + chest wall/none | 1.18 (0.80–1.74) | 0.4043 | 0.82 (0.51–1.31) | 0.4064 |
CI confidence interval, BMI body mass index, SLNB sentinel lymph node biopsy, ALND axillary lymph node dissection, DCIS ductal carcinoma in situ, RLNR regional lymph node radiation
aAge at surgery, pre-operative BMI, and number of positive lymph nodes were analyzed as continuous variables such that the hazard ratios reflect the change in lymphedema risk associated with a 1-unit increase in the variable
b"–" indicates the specified variable/comparison was not analyzed
c2 Separate models, each including age at surgery, BMI and ALND were used to estimate the hazard ratios for (1) adjuvant taxane-based chemo and (2) individual effects of paclitaxel and docetaxel