Work

Risk Factors of Cardiotoxicity After Breast Cancer Radiation Therapy

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Purpose: Concern for cardiotoxicity after the treatment of breast cancer necessitates a better understanding of factors that may increase the risk of significant (grade ≥3) cardiac events. We investigated clinical factors, coronary artery calcium (CAC), and radiation therapy dose to cardiac structures as predictive post-radiation therapy cardiotoxicity risk factors. Methods and Materials: We retrospectively analyzed a cohort of serial patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for stage I to III breast cancer from 2005 through 2014. We measured the incidence of cardiac events after treatment, adjusting for the competing risk of death. Results: < .05) Conclusions: In a cohort of patients with breast cancer with low CAC burden and overall low doses of radiation, we observed low rates of cardiotoxicity. However, our findings identify patients with nodal positive disease as a particularly high-risk group, suggesting that close follow-up and optimization of therapies for this subgroup is needed.

Source: Advances in Radiation Oncology

DOI: 10.1016/j.adro.2025.101911