A Preliminary Study of the Effectiveness of a Custom-made Compression Garment with Simplified Tailoring for Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema: A Randomized Control Trial

Objectives: To study the changes in arm volume and quality of life of breast cancer-related lymphedema patients after using a custom-made compression garment with simplified tailoring compared with a pressure garment tailoring by a standard method Study design: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial Setting: The Outpatient Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic in Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand Subjects: Females aged 18 years or older diagnosed with breast cancer-related lymphedema Methods: Forty-three participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both groups received complex decongestive therapy (CDT) over a period of three weeks. The control group was provided custom-made compression garments made using the conventional method, while the experimental group received custom-made compression garments made using a simplified technique of tailoring. Results: Of the forty-three participants, 22 were in the intervention group and 21 were in the control group. In the control group, the mean arm volume decreased by 77.6 ml (SD = 201.8) after three weeks. The volume in the control group was not statistically significant different from baseline (p = 0.058). During the same period, the mean arm volume reduction in the intervention group was 172.7 ml (SD = 304.3), a statistically significant reduction in the affected arm volume from baseline (p = 0.015). However, no statistically significant difference was observed in other direct comparisons between the two groups, i.e., both groups statistically significantly improved their quality of life as measured by changes in the Lymphedema Functioning, Disability, and Health Questionnaire for Upper Limb Lymphedema (Lymph-ICF-UL). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding quality-of-life improvement. Conclusions: The data suggests a trend towards a more significant reduction in affected arm volume with the new custom-made tailoring method of making the compression garment over the conventional tailoring technique. These results suggest promising avenues for future larger-scale studies.