Women under 55 treated with radiotherapy for breast cancer are more likely to develop a cardiovascular disorder.
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer in France and is the leading cause of cancer death in women.
- It is the subject of a national screening program organized in order to be detected early and to reduce mortality.
Recognized as very effective, radiotherapy is frequently administered to patients with breast cancer. But in women under the age of 55, radiotherapy can in some cases cause a risk of cardiovascular disorder, warn researchers from the American College of Radiology.
Strengthen prevention in young patients
A study followed 900 women under the age of 55 when their breast cancer was diagnosed, between 1985 and 2008. In 46 of these patients, a diagnosis of coronary artery disease was pronounced, including 91% approximately five years after the end of their radiotherapy treatment. The doctors who carried out the research also observed a higher incidence in the left breast: 10.5% compared to 5.8% for women who underwent radiotherapy on the right side.
“Our study adds to the growing evidence that left-sided radiation therapy is an independent risk factor for future heart disease after breast cancer treatment. It is important that clinicians caring for young patients with a breast cancer communicate the importance of radiation therapy for breast cancer while explaining the need for long-term attention to the risk of heart disease”, comments Gordon Watt, PhD, postdoctoral researcher at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and lead author of the study.
“An indispensable element”
“Radiation therapy is an indispensable part of breast cancer care, and the good news for breast cancer patients is that modern techniques and computerized treatment planning have reduced the amount of radiation that reaches the heart, reducing thus the risk of developing heart disease”, adds Gordon Watt.
This study is published a few days before‘Pink October, month of awareness and fight against breast cancer organized each year by the association Ruban rose. Detected at an early stage, breast cancer can be cured in nine out of ten cases.
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