Patients Treated with Breast Radiotherapy Have No Higher Risk of Long-Term Cardiac Morbidity
Charles Simone, MD, Radiation Oncologist with University of Pennsylvania Health System
ASTRO’s Annual Meeting is the premier scientific meeting in radiation oncology and is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees including oncologists from all disciplines, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, radiation oncology nurses and nurse practitioners, biologists, physician assistants, practice administrators, industry representatives and other health care professionals from around the world.
The theme of the 2012 meeting is “Advancing Patient Care Through Innovation” and will examine how innovation in technology and patient care delivery can lead to improved patient outcomes. The four-day scientific meeting will include six plenary papers, 408 oral presentations, 1,724 posters, and 130 digital posters in 63 tracks/topic areas.
As part of this year’s conference, Charles Simone, MD, Radiation Oncologist with University of Pennsylvania Health System and colleagues are presenting the study that was conducted on 247 stage I-II breast cancer patients treated from 1979-1987 at NCI to evaluate for anatomic and functional abnormalities, and CT angiogram to evaluate for stenotic coronary disease and determine coronary arterial calcium score (CAC) of atherosclerotic burden. The imaging was assessed by a single experienced cardiologist blinded to randomization arm.
This is the first study to report comprehensive late cardiac outcomes after randomization for breast cancer therapy. Based on this study, in the era of 3D planning, patients that were treated with breast radiotherapy do not have a higher risk of long-term cardiac morbidity compared with modified radical mastectomy patients.