Hospital Universitario 'Dr José Eleuterio González', Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México.
Cytotherapy. 2011 Nov;13(10):1249-55. doi: 10.3109/14653249.2011.594791.
BACKGROUND AIMS. Lymphedema is a common complication with breast cancer treatment that does not have a definite cure. Our objective was to determine the efficacy of autologous stem cells (ASC) in the treatment of lymphedema secondary to mastectomy and axillary lymphadenectomy in comparison with traditional decongestive treatment with compression sleeves. METHODS. A prospective study including 20 women with lymphedema secondary to breast cancer surgery with axillary lymphadenectomy was conducted. Women were assigned at random to one of two groups. One group of 10 women was injected with ASC in the affected arm, whereas the other 10 women comprised the control group and received traditional compression sleeve therapy (CST). The follow-up for both groups was 12 weeks. Pain, sensitivity and mobility were assessed before and after therapy. RESULTS. There was improvement in the volume of lymphedema in both groups, with no significant difference. In the ASC group there was an overall volume reduction during the follow-up, whereas in the CST group lymphedema recurred after the compression sleeve was removed. CONCLUSIONS. Our findings suggest that ASC injection for patients with lymphedema can be an effective treatment. It reduces arm volume and associated co-morbidities of pain and decreased sensitivity. Traditional CST was also effective for lymphedema reduction, but it was dependent on continuous use of the treatment.
背景目的。淋巴水肿是乳腺癌治疗的常见并发症，目前尚无明确的治愈方法。我们的目的是确定自体干细胞（ASC）治疗乳腺癌根治术和腋窝淋巴结清扫术后继发淋巴水肿的疗效，与传统的压缩袖套减压治疗进行比较。
方法。一项前瞻性研究纳入了 20 例因乳腺癌手术伴腋窝淋巴结清扫术导致淋巴水肿的女性患者。患者被随机分配到两组中的一组。10 名女性在患侧手臂注射 ASC，而另外 10 名女性为对照组，接受传统的压缩袖套治疗（CST）。两组的随访时间均为 12 周。在治疗前后评估疼痛、敏感度和活动度。
结果。两组的淋巴水肿体积均有改善，但无显著差异。在 ASC 组，整个随访期间淋巴水肿体积总体减少，而在 CST 组，当压缩袖套去除后，淋巴水肿再次出现。
结论。我们的研究结果表明，ASC 注射治疗淋巴水肿患者可能是一种有效的治疗方法。它可以减少手臂体积以及疼痛和敏感度降低等相关合并症。传统的 CST 对淋巴水肿的减轻也有效，但需要持续使用治疗。
