In parallel, breast cancer-associated lymphedema has several clinical attributes that suggest a relationship to, and a role for, insulin resistance. In this regard, it is interesting to contemplate the recent, multiple lines of evidence that suggest that the gene FOXC2 regulates, directly or indirectly, several aspects of adipocyte metabolism and that genetic variability in the gene may influence features associated with the insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome. These observations are of particular interest because of the recognized relationship of FOXC2 haploinsufficiency to a variety of identified lymphedema syndromes. It is therefore attractive to conjecture that insulin resistance, perhaps mediated through polymorphisms of FOXC2,.confers secondary lymphedema risk and predisposes to the as yet poorly understood tendency for breast cancer survivors to acquire substantial, pathological deposits of adipose tissue in the affected extremities with chronicity of the lymphedema.