A scoring system for predicting the risk of breast cancer-related lymphedema

We aimed to establish a scoring system to predict the risk of breast cancer-related lymphedema. From April 2017 to December 2018, 533 patients who previously underwent surgery for breast cancer were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Univariate analysis was performed to explore and define the risk factors. A scoring system was then established on the basis of odds ratio values in the regression analysis. The additive scoring system values ranged from 6 to 22. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of this scoring system showed a sensitivity and specificity of 83.3% and 57.3%, respectively, to predict the risk of lymphedema at a cut-off of 15.5 points; the area under the curve was 0.736 (95% confidence interval: 0.662–0.811), with χ2 = 5.134 (P = 0.274) for the Hosmer–Lemeshow test. The predictive efficiency and accuracy of the scoring system were acceptable, and the system could be used to predict and screen groups at high risk for breast cancer-related lymphedema.