Journal
HEAD AND NECK-JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENCES AND SPECIALTIES OF THE HEAD AND NECK
Volume 39, Issue 6, Pages 1177-1188Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/hed.24750
Keywords
near-infrared fluorescence imaging; lymphatics; radiation; head and neck cancer; lymphedema
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Funding
- Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas grant [RP120941]
- National Institutes of Health [U54 CA136404]
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Background. The lymphatic vasculature provides a route for cancer metastases, and its dysfunction after cancer treatment can result in lymphedema. However, changes in the lymphatics before, during, and after surgery and radiation remain unclear. Methods. Near-infrared fluorescence lymphatic imaging was performed before and after lymph node dissection and fractionated radiotherapy to assess changes in external lymphatic function. Results. Patients who underwent both lymph node dissection and radiotherapy developed lymphatic dermal backflow on treated sides ranging from days after the start of radiotherapy to weeks after its completion, whereas contralateral regions that were not associated with lymph node dissection but also treated with radiotherapy experienced no such changes in external lymphatic anatomies. Conclusion. The external lymphatics undergo transient changes during and weeks after lymph node dissection and radiotherapy. (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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