Tuesday, December 23, 2025 12/23/2025

Mapping & quantifying lymphatic drainage of the arm's alternate pathway

Award Number: R01HL157991
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/26/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2026

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Mapping & quantifying lymphatic drainage of the arm's alternate pathway - Project Summary/Abstract Breast Cancer Related Lymphedema affects 1.2 million patients in the United States and has no cure. The symptoms of lymphedema include fatigue, tightness, pain, and life-threatening infections. However, two-thirds of women undergoing breast cancer treatment with the highest risk factors for developing lymphedema do not develop the disease. While there is no explanation for this finding, one hypothesis is that normal anatomic variations of the lymphatic system pre-dispose certain women to developing lymphedema after breast cancer treatment. Specifically, the main back-up lymphatic pathway of the arm, the Mascagni-Sappey (MS) pathway, is variably present in cadaver studies and avoids areas that are usually damaged with breast cancer treatment. Moreover, when present in these cadaver studies, the MS pathway has variable anatomic connections which can impact its ability to drain the arm effectively. We hypothesize that, utilizing modern imaging techniques, we can define the anatomy of the MS pathway and its variations in normal women and in breast cancer survivors who have undergone high risk breast cancer treatment and did not develop lymphedema. Utilizing this information, we will be able to predict which variations predispose women to develop lymphedema. Finally, we will develop a novel method of non-invasive intra- operative optical imaging to assess the function of this pathway during breast cancer operations to predict the patient's risk of developing lymphedema. The ability to evaluate real-time lymphatic function would allow cancer teams to implement preventive interventions in high risk patients. As the most common cause of lymphedema in the United States is secondary to cancer procedures, this model of lymphedema prevention could be widely applied to the treatment of other high risk cancer populations including gynecologic cancers, urologic cancers, skin cancers, and sarcomas.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2026	2025	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC.	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	000	5	11/21/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $434,000 )
2025	2025	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC.	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	000	5	12/10/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$434,000
														Subtotal = $434,000

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $434,000 )
2024	2024	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	000	4	12/14/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$434,000
														Subtotal = $434,000

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $434,000 )
2023	2023	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	000	3	12/13/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$390,600
2023	2023	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	001	3	3/6/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$43,400
														Subtotal = $434,000

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $434,000 )
2022	2022	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	000	2	12/2/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$390,600
2022	2022	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	001	2	6/29/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$43,400
														Subtotal = $434,000

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $452,750 )
2021	2021	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	000	1	1/26/2021	NEW	$407,475
2021	2021	BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, INC	330 BROOKLINE AVE	BOSTON	MA	02215	SUFFOLK	USA	Cardiovascular Diseases Research	001	1	6/14/2021	NEW	$45,275
														Subtotal = $452,750

Grand Total All Awards = $2,188,750

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Mapping & quantifying lymphatic drainage of the arm's alternate pathway

Award Number: R01HL157991

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 01/26/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2026

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