Study Shows Women With Breast Cancer Treated With Radiotherapy Using Tangential Fields Have Increased Risk Of Developing Cancer In The Other Breast

Women with breast cancer treated with radiotherapy using tangential fields - where radiation is directed at an angle to the breast - after lumpectomy show increased risk of breast cancer in the other breast, with an even higher risk in younger women and in those with family members who have had breast cancer, warns a study.

Women who have had breast cancer have a three to four times higher risk of developing a new primary cancer in their other breast (contralateral breast cancer), compared with the risk of a first primary breast cancer in other women. This increased risk could be due to a common cause for the tumours in both breasts, such as a genetic tendency to breast cancer or hormonal risk factors.

source: Medical News Today