ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT03941756Updated Nov 10, 2026

Lymphovenous Bypass Procedure Before Underarm Lymph Node Surgery in Preventing Lymphedema in Patients With Inflammatory or Locally Advanced Non-inflammatory Breast Cancer or Melanoma

An interventional study of Indocyanine Green and Lymphangiography in Anatomic Stage III Breast Cancer AJCC v8, Breast Inflammatory Carcinoma and Locally Advanced Breast Carcinoma, sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-10.

Sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 8 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Aug 2018, registered May 2019).
  • Started Aug 2018; still recruiting 8 years 2 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
252
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This pilot trial studies whether a procedure called lymphovenous bypass would prevent lymphedema (arm swelling) in patients with inflammatory breast cancer or non-inflammatory breast cancer that has spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes or melanoma. The lymphovenous bypass procedure creates a path for lymphatic fluid to flow away from the arms. It is usually done after a diagnosis of lymphedema. In this study, giving lymphovenous bypass before underarm lymph node surgery may help prevent lymphedema from forming.

Read the detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate the protective benefit to performing standard of care lymphovenous bypass (LVB) surgery at the time of standard of care axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for patients that are high risk for developing breast-cancer related lymphedema (LE) of the upper extremity.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Compare the medical outcomes for patients that received the LVB surgery with those receiving standard surgery in whom the intervention could not be performed.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 groups.

GROUP I: Patients receive indocyanine green intravenously (IV) and undergo lymphangiography, then undergo LVB at the time of ALND.

GROUP II: Patients do not receive indocyanine green, undergo lymphangiography, nor undergo LVB at the time of ALND.

After completion of study, patients are followed up at 2 weeks, and then at 6, 12, and 18 months.

02

Conditions studied

  • Anatomic Stage III Breast Cancer AJCC v8
  • Breast Inflammatory Carcinoma
  • Locally Advanced Breast Carcinoma
  • Melanoma
03

In context

Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms

112 studies on the registry are indexed under Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms; 7 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 252 is above the median of 58 across 96 interventional studies indexed under Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms.

Browse Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms studies →

Lead sponsor

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is the lead sponsor of 3,047 studies on the registry; 578 are open to participants now.

Of its 612 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 409 (67%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients greater than or equal to 18 years of age.
  • Patients willing to participate.
  • Patients able to complete .
  • Patients will be eligible for inclusion if they fall into one for two groups:

    • Patients with inflammatory breast cancer, and those with locally advanced non-inflammatory breast cancer that are undergoing ALND and are anticipated to receive radiation therapy
    • Or: Patients with a diagnosis of melanoma (including unknown primary) that will undergo ALND will also be eligible for inclusion in the study as a comparator group.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients taking anticoagulants within 7 days prior to surgery.
  • Patients that are known to be pregnant at the time of surgery.
  • Patients are available for follow-up less than 18 months or do not undergo measurements within the scheduled period.
  • Patients with (BMI) greater than 50.0.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
252 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Group I (LVB)

    Patients receive indocyanine green IV and undergo lymphangiography, then undergo LVB at the time of ALND.

    Drug: Indocyanine Green · Procedure: Lymphangiography · Procedure: Lymphovenous Bypass

  • No intervention
    Group II (no intervention)

    Patients do not receive indocyanine green, undergo lymphangiography, nor undergo LVB at the time of ALND.

Interventions

  • DrugIndocyanine Green

    Given IV

    Also known as: ICG

  • ProcedureLymphangiography

    Undergo lymphangiography

    Also known as: Lymphography

  • ProcedureLymphovenous Bypass

    Undergo LVB

    Also known as: Lymphovenous Anastomosis

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Volumetric diagnosis of lymphedema

    If the limb volume change, meets the criteria for a diagnosis of lymphedema at any time (5 percent, change), then the patient receives a diagnosis of lymphedema.

    Time frame: 18 months

  2. Incidence of lymphedema

    Will compare the incidence of lymphedema after mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection surgery between two surgical techniques.

    Time frame: 18 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Minor edits
Nothing that changes what the study is or who can join. Edited: verification date
1 update, last Nov 10, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 10, 2026
    Minor edits only
    + 1 other change: verification date

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03941756
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 8, 2019
Start date
Aug 14, 2018
Primary completion
Jan 1, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 1, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 10, 2026

Study contacts

Mark Schaverien
principal investigator · M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Interested in this study?

Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.

No contact was published for this record. The registry link below has the sponsor’s details.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion