Health
Breast Cancer Survivors Face Only Slightly Higher Second Cancer Risk
Health Points
- New research shows a smaller increase in second cancer risk for breast cancer survivors than previously believed.
- Radiation and hormone therapies carry specific but low risks for additional cancers, while treatment methods continue to improve.
- The study highlights the importance of modern monitoring and acknowledges its own limitations in scope and diversity.
Surviving breast cancer may not raise your risk of developing a second, unrelated cancer as much as once thought, according to recent findings.
Researchers tracked over 475,000 women with a history of breast cancer, discovering that the overall risk of a new primary cancer was just 2 percent higher than for women without a history of breast cancer.
“When somebody has a history of any cancer, they are usually at a higher risk of developing subsequent cancers,” says Jason Aboudi Mouabbi, MD, from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Mouabbi notes the study’s findings should be very reassuring for breast cancer survivors.
Most new cancers identified were in the uterus or lungs, amounting to a slight increase over the general population figure. Younger women had a somewhat higher risk of developing a new breast cancer in the opposite breast.
“Our study confirms that the risks of new cancers are higher for breast cancer survivors than for other women in the general population,” says lead researcher David Dodwell, MD, of the University of Oxford.
He emphasizes that the risks of a new cancer are small compared to the risks of recurrence or breast cancer itself in women treated for early-stage disease.
Certain treatments showed specific risks: radiation increased lung and opposite-breast cancer chances, hormone therapy raised the risk of uterine cancer but lowered the likelihood of new breast cancer, and chemotherapy linked to rare cases of leukemia.
Hope Rugo, MD, chief of breast medical oncology at City of Hope, explains that today’s advanced treatments further reduce dangers related to secondary cancers.
She notes that modern radiation methods are more precise, minimizing exposure to other organs.
Dr. Mouabbi says, “It’s important to note that the treatment is what’s preventing other cancers from popping up.”
Doctors carefully monitor patients who receive hormone therapies to catch and prevent early signs of related cancers.
Researchers point out some limits in their study, including incomplete data, the lack of male or racially diverse participants, and the inability to prove whether treatments directly cause second cancers.
Staying informed and regularly consulting with your healthcare team remains the best way to safeguard your long-term health after breast cancer.