Patients receiving radiotherapy for breast cancer at risk of developing second cancer

Radiotherapy has been seen as a risk factor for development of soft tissue sarcomas (STS). A study from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA has quantified the risk of STS after radiation therapy (RT) and surgery for breast cancer. The study also assessed time trends and compared long-term survival of patients with RT-associated and non-RT associated angiosarcomas using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Women with breast cancer reported to SEER from 1973 to 2003 were included in the study. RT was found to increase the risk of soft tissue sarcoma, in particular angiosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytomas. The authors recommended that patients who received RT for breast cancer should be followed closely by healthcare providers for more than 20 years.

Reference:

MERY, C.M., GEORGE, S., BERTAGNOLLI, M.M., RAUT, C.P., Secondary Sarcomas After Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer, Cancer 15 115(Sep. 2009) 4055-4063.