Younger Breast Cancer Survivors Risk Disease in Other Breast

[Guest guest]

> Younger Breast Cancer Survivors Risk Disease in Other Breast Study

> suggests link to radiation therapy, but experts say treatments are safer

today.

> http://www.healthfinder.gov/news/newsstory.aspx?docid=620324

> By Gardner- HealthDay Reporter

>

> WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Young women receiving radiation after

> having surgery for breast cancer are at increased risk of developing a new

> tumor in the opposite -- or contralateral -- breast, a new Dutch study

> suggests.

>

> And the risk jumps even higher if the woman also has a significant family

> history of breast cancer.

>

> The study, appearing online in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical

> Oncology, looked at fairly recent radiation techniques (1970 to 1986), but

> experts pointed out that these techniques are continually being refined and

> improved.

>

> " It's a very interesting study, [but] radiation techniques have changed

> dramatically over the last 25 years and a lot of these patients were treated

with

> much older techniques, " said Dr. Jay , chairman of hematology/oncology

> at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La.

>

> The risk of contralateral breast cancer was also greatest when three or more

> family members had a history of breast cancer, indicating that some of the

> women in the study might have the risk-raising BRCA1 or 2 genetic mutations.

> These mutations weren't tested for in the study.

>

> " Today, we're able to better identify women who may not be

> breast-conservation candidates, " said.

>

> Study author Maartje J. Hooning, of the department of medical oncology at

> Erasmus Medical Center den Hoed Cancer Center in Rotterdam, said that

> even though " radiation techniques of today will lead to a lower dose to the

> contralateral breast than the techniques presented in our study, treating

> clinicians should be aware of the existing dose-response relationship for risk

of

> contralateral breast cancer. Especially in young women, the radiation dose to

> the contralateral breast should be kept as low as possible. "

>

> According to the American Cancer Society, radiation therapy is usually

> employed to destroy lingering cancer cells after a lumpectomy (also known as

> breast-conserving surgery), after a mastectomy involving a tumor larger than 5

> centimeters in size, or when cancer is found in the lymph nodes.

>

> 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.

>

> 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.

>

> (SOURCES: Maartje J. Hooning, Ph.D., department of medical oncology, Erasmus

> Medical Center, den Hoed Cancer Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands;

> Jay , M.D., chairman, hematology/oncology, Ochsner Health System, Baton

> Rouge, La.; Journal of Clinical Oncology, online)

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> UPDATE ON COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE: ANN FONFA

> TUESDAY, October 28 7pm Cosponsored by Breast Cancer Options

> Nationally acclaimed speaker and advocate Ann Fonfa will talk about new

> developments in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) from world-wide

> sources, as well as tried and tested evidence-based treatments and issues. She

> will also discuss how barriers to CAM create problems for patients and

> survivors. Ann Fonfa is the Founder and Director of the Annie Appleseed

Project, the

> leading patient advocacy organization concerned with Complementary and

> Alternative therapies. For more information, please visit her website:

> www.annieappleseed.org . Please register for this free educational event by

Mon. 10/27

> by calling the Oncology Support Program at 845 339-2071 or e-mailing

> dblaha@....

> KINGSTON: Benedictine Hospital ASB Ground floor conference room

>

> NUTRITION AND CANCER

> THURSDAY, October 30, 2008- 6:30pm Speaker: B. Wald, MD, DC, MS,

> CNS, CCN, CDN, DACBN. Supervisor of nutritional services at Advanced Medicine

of

> Mount Kisco, P.C.,

> A healthy diet can reduce the risk of cancer and cancer recurrence and

> improve your health during cancer treatment. Learn the principles of healthy

> eating.

> For Information: (845) 339-4673

> POUGHKEEPSIE: St. Francis Hospital Atrium Boardroom.

> COME OUT & FIND OUT- HEALTH ISSUES SYMPOSIUM

> SATURDAY, November 8 8am-5pm

> Sponsored by the LGBT Center, Kingston Information: Shelmandine,

> Direct Services Coordinator, 331-5300

>

>

> FROM 1-2:30pm-- Women's CARES: Breast, Gynecological, and Sexual Health for

> Lesbians and Bisexual. educational discussion about cancer and disease

> prevention in this population, options, research needs and support for

lesbians and

> bisexual women. Topics medical services, complementary medicine, and safer

> sex. This workshop is appropriate counselors, educators and other health

> professionals.

> Presenters: Hope Nemiroff, Executive Director, Breast Cancer Options,

> an organization of survivors and their supporters [whose] mission is to

> educate about effective treatment options, to advocate for and support

informed

> patient public awareness regarding cancer risk reduction " .

> Urech, LMSW, Director of the Oncology Support Program at Benedictine

> part of the new Health Alliance, the Oncology Support Program offers many

> including support groups, arts in wellness classes, nutrition instruction,

> education medicine and more ( has been facilitating the ovarian cancer

> support group, Young Cancer Support Program, since its inception in 2001).

> Alisha Decker and Petit, HIV/Sexual Health Education Professionals,

> Care Center, a division of Albany Medical Center, located in Kingston, NY.

> KINGSTON: Holiday Inn

>

>

>

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