Health & Medicine
Breast Cancer Radiation Can Cause Heart Problems Later On, Study Warns
SWR Staff Writer
First Posted: Mar 14, 2013 11:30 AM EDT
Breast cancer patients treated with radiation are more prone to developing heart issues later on in life, even if the radiation is given in small amounts, according to a new study released Wednesday.
The risk comes from any amount of radiation, starts five years after treatment and lasts for decades, doctors found. The findings, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, emphasize the need for better health care for breast cancer survivors. Adding to a weaker heart are the chemotherapy drugs that many take, further increasing the risk.
"Breast cancer patients who are candidates for radiation should still receive radiation," said study co-author Dr. Candace Correa, a radiation oncologist at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. "This isn't an alarmist study, but should be used to estimate radiation risks to the heart and take efforts to reduce that dose."
The European and American researchers examined medical records from nearly 1,000 Danish and Swedish breast cancer patients who went on to develop heart disease or died from it after they were treated with radiation for breast cancer during the period of 1958 to 2001.
Researchers discovered that for each 1 gray (Gy) dose of radiation delivered to the heart, women had a 7.4 percent increased risk of heart disease.
However, doctors say patients shouldn't worry as radiation has improved cancer survival, and that is the top priority afterall. The chance of suffering a radiation-induced heart problem is fairly small.
Doctors encourage breast cancer patients to also take care of their general health - keeping weight down, cholesterol and blood pressure under control - and this will also help against heart disease.
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First Posted: Mar 14, 2013 11:30 AM EDT
Breast cancer patients treated with radiation are more prone to developing heart issues later on in life, even if the radiation is given in small amounts, according to a new study released Wednesday.
The risk comes from any amount of radiation, starts five years after treatment and lasts for decades, doctors found. The findings, published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, emphasize the need for better health care for breast cancer survivors. Adding to a weaker heart are the chemotherapy drugs that many take, further increasing the risk.
"Breast cancer patients who are candidates for radiation should still receive radiation," said study co-author Dr. Candace Correa, a radiation oncologist at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. "This isn't an alarmist study, but should be used to estimate radiation risks to the heart and take efforts to reduce that dose."
The European and American researchers examined medical records from nearly 1,000 Danish and Swedish breast cancer patients who went on to develop heart disease or died from it after they were treated with radiation for breast cancer during the period of 1958 to 2001.
Researchers discovered that for each 1 gray (Gy) dose of radiation delivered to the heart, women had a 7.4 percent increased risk of heart disease.
However, doctors say patients shouldn't worry as radiation has improved cancer survival, and that is the top priority afterall. The chance of suffering a radiation-induced heart problem is fairly small.
Doctors encourage breast cancer patients to also take care of their general health - keeping weight down, cholesterol and blood pressure under control - and this will also help against heart disease.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone