AHRQ posts review on secondary lymphedema
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's finalized technology assessment on the diagnosis and treatment of secondary lymphedema says that more research is needed to gather evidence on the optimal testing protocol, optimal frequency and duration of treatment, the most efficacious treatment combinations, the length of time for which persons should be tested or treated for lymphedema and whether certain tests or treatments may benefit some types of patients more than others. The report, dated May 28, updates a draft report released last November (1"The Gray Sheet" Nov. 18, 2009). It also adds evidence from non-English-language studies that were excluded from the earlier technology assessment and that were requested by a Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee that met in Baltimore last November (2"The Gray Sheet" Nov. 23, 2009). Because much of the available evidence on secondary lymphedema comes from studies of breast cancer patients, the report says, diagnostic tests should also be evaluated in non-breast cancer populations before they are widely used for the condition
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