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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 In general, according to the study, women diagnosed with breast cancer in one breast have three to four times the risk of developing a new cancer in the other breast.
Much of this increased risk has been attributed to genetic predisposition, hormonal risk factors and other common causes. But there remains the possibility that treatment regimens for the first breast cancer, including chemotherapy and radiation, might also play a part.
For this study, the researchers looked at more than 7,000 one-year survivors of breast cancer who had been under the age of 71 when they were diagnosed. All were treated from 1970 to 1986 in the Netherlands.
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Overall, radiation therapy did not significantly increase the risk of a new cancer in the opposite breast.
However, women treated with radiation before they turned 45 had a slightly increased risk of a new tumor in the other breast, while women receiving radiation before they were 35 had a 78 percent increased risk.
Women receiving post-lumpectomy radiation before the age of 45 had a 1.5-fold increased risk of contralateral breast cancer when compared with women who had undergone post-mastectomy radiation, according to the study.
Younger women with a strong family history of breast cancer who had also undergone post-lumpectomy radiation had a 3.5-fold increased risk of contralateral breast cancer, the study found.
"Now that we know that young patients with affected relatives are at increased risk of contralateral breast cancer following radiation therapy, we should define in more detail the subgroup that is genetically susceptible to radiation-induced breast cancer," Hooning said.
More information
The American Cancer Society has more on radiation therapy for breast cancer.
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