The Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Apr 6;21(7):2546. doi: 10.3390/ijms21072546.
An estimated 5 million people in the United States are affected by secondary lymphedema, with most cases attributed to malignancies or malignancy-related treatments. The pathogenesis of secondary lymphedema has historically been attributed to lymphatic injury or dysfunction; however, recent studies illustrate the complexity of lymphedema as a disease process in which many of its clinical features such as inflammation, fibrosis, adipogenesis, and recurrent infections contribute to on-going lymphatic dysfunction in a vicious cycle. Investigations into the molecular underpinning of these features further our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disease and suggests new therapeutics.
据估计，美国有 500 万人受到继发性淋巴水肿的影响，大多数病例归因于恶性肿瘤或与恶性肿瘤相关的治疗。继发性淋巴水肿的发病机制历来归因于淋巴损伤或功能障碍；然而，最近的研究说明了淋巴水肿作为一种疾病过程的复杂性，其许多临床特征，如炎症、纤维化、脂肪生成和反复感染，导致持续的淋巴功能障碍，形成恶性循环。对这些特征的分子基础的研究进一步加深了我们对这种疾病病理生理学的理解，并提示了新的治疗方法。
