A study of “women receiving [radiation therapy] RT for left-sided breast cancer between 25 and 54 years of age and followed for a median of 14 years,” found they “were more likely to experience subsequent CAD [coronary artery disease] than women receiving RT for right-sided breast cancer.” The study was published on September 21, 2021, in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The team, led by Dr. Lauren Carlson from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, wrote, “This study shows that women receiving RT for left-sided breast cancer between 25 and 54 years of age and followed for a median of 14 years were more likely to experience subsequent CAD than women receiving RT for right-sided breast cancer. Only 9% of CAD diagnoses were reported within the first 5 years of follow-up, supporting the need for long-term follow-up of younger breast cancer survivors to identify late cardiovascular disease as a result of RT.”

The authors noted “[a]s additional cardiovascular risk factors may emerge as younger women age during survivorship, these risk factors and resulting cardiovascular disease should also continue to be monitored and assessed in this population.”

Sources:

Lauren E. Carlson, Gordon P. Watt, Emily S. Tonorezos, Eric J. Chow, Anthony F. Yu, Meghan Woods, Charles F. Lynch, Esther M. John, Lene Mellemkjӕr, Jennifer D. Brooks, Julia A. Knight, Anne S. Reiner, Xiaolin Liang, Susan A. Smith, Leslie Bernstein, Lawrence T. Dauer, Laura I. Cerviño, Rebecca M. Howell, Roy E. Shore, John D. Boice, Jonine L. Bernstein, Jonine L. Bernstein, Marinela Capanu, Irene Orlow, Mark Robson, Jørgen H. Olsen, Kathleen E. Malone, Marilyn Stovall, Kristina Blackmore, Irene Harris, Rikke Langballe, Cecilia O’Brien, Rita Weathers, Michele West, Lisa Hunter, Judy Goldstein, Elaine Ramos. Coronary Artery Disease in Young Women After Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer: The WECARE Study. JACC: CardioOncology, Volume 3, Issue 3,2021. Accessed September 27, 2021, at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666087321001629?via%3Dihub#sec3

Allegretto, Amerigo. Radiation therapy for breast cancer boosts risk of heart disease. AuntMinnie.com September 21, 2021. Accessed September 27, 2021, at https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=wom&pag=dis&ItemID=133540