Treatment of Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema With Topical Tacrolimus: A Prospective, Open-Label, Single- Arm, Phase II Pilot Trial

Purpose: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a chronic, progressive side effect of breast cancer treatment, occurring in one-third of patients treated with axillary lymph node dissection and nodal radiotherapy. Cluster of differentiation 4-positive (CD4+) cells plays a key role in BCRL by facilitating inflammation and inhibiting lymphangiogenesis. Tacrolimus is an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive macrolide that targets CD4+ cells. Treatment of lymphedema with topical tacrolimus has revealed promising results in preclinical trials. This clinical trial was aimed at evaluating the feasibility, safety, and effect of tacrolimus in women with stage I or II BCRL, according to the International Society of Lymphology. Methods: We conducted this open-label, single-arm, phase II pilot trial from September 2020 to April 2021. Eighteen women with BCRL stage I or II BCRL were treated with topical tacrolimus for 6 months and followed up at 3 and 6 months. The primary outcome was arm volume, and secondary outcomes were the lymphedema index (L-Dex), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), lymph flow and function, and safety and feasibility of the trial design. Results: The mean lymphedema arm volume and L-Dex reduced significantly by 130.44 +/- 210.13 mL (p < 0.05; relative reduction: 3.6%) and 3.54 +/- 4.98 (p < 0.05), respectively, and health-related quality of life scores was improved significantly (p < 0.05). According to the MD Anderson scale, in terms of lymph flow and function, three patients (16.7%) showed improvement, while none showed worsening. Lymph flow or function showed no change according to the Arm Dermal Backflow scale. Conclusion: In this trial, treatment with tacrolimus was safe and feasible in women with stage I or II BCRL. Tacrolimus alleviated BCRL in terms of improved arm volume, L-Dex, and HRQoL. Assessments of lymph flow and function were positive, although inconclusive. Larger randomized controlled trials are required to verify these findings.

Automated summary

Tacrolimus treatment was found to be safe and effective in reducing symptoms of BCRL, improving the quality of life of patients, and positively impacting lymph flow and function. However, larger randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these findings, as the sample size of this study was small and there was no control group.