Pilot study of high-frequency ultrasound to assess cutaneous oedema in theconservatively managed breast

Cutaneous oedema is a relatively frequent complication in patients treated conservatively for breast cancer. The factors that contribute to this compl ication have not been precisely determined. We performed a pilot study to a ssess the usefulness of high-frequency ultrasound as a quantitative measure of cutaneous oedema. Eleven patients undergoing breast-conserving therapy for breast cancer were studied. Both the treated and untreated breasts were examined. Total cutaneous thickness provided a useful measure of cutaneous oedema. The created breast was significantly thicker than the untreated br east (P < 0.001). The medial aspect of the breast was thicker than the late ral aspect in both the treated and untreated breast (P < 0.001). The increa se in cutaneous thickness predated radiotherapy in those patients who had u ndergone an axillary dissection. Intrapatient variation in skin thickness w as much less than interpatient variation in skin thickness (coefficient of variation 6.4% vs. 18.2% for the untreated breast; coefficient of variation 13.9% vs. 30.9% for the treated breast). Increasing cutaneous thickness wa s associated with decreasing cutaneous echodensity. We were unable to deriv e quantitative estimates of echodensity. Cutaneous oedema is an important o utcome variable following conservative treatment of breast cancer. High-fre quency ultrasound is able to quantify this accurately. It can readily detec t changes invisible to the naked eye. High-frequency ultrasound should enab le the effects of different treatment options (e.g., extent of surgery, rad iotherapy, and chemotherapy) on cutaneous oedema to be differentiated and f or the time course of oedema to be accurately characterised. (C) 2000 Wiley -Liss, Inc.