Variation in telangiectasia predisposing genes is associated with overall radiation toxicity.

Purpose: In patients receiving radiotherapy for breast cancer where the heart is within the radiation field, cutaneous telangiectasiae could be a marker of potential radiation-induced heart disease. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes known to cause heritable telangiectasia-associated disorders could predispose to such late, normal tissue vascular damage.

Methods And Materials: The relationship between cutaneous telangiectasia as a late normal tissue radiation injury phenotype in 633 breast cancer patients treated with radiotherapy was examined.

Association between single nucleotide polymorphisms in the DNA repair gene LIG3 and acute adverse skin reactions following radiotherapy.

Many genes have been associated with radiotherapy toxicity, but most have only been found in a single study. Using our cohort of 480 breast cancer patients, we provide replicated evidence that a polymorphism near the LIG3 gene is associated with acute skin toxicity following radiotherapy.

Can cutaneous telangiectasiae as late normal-tissue injury predict cardiovascular disease in women receiving radiotherapy for breast cancer?

Background: Overall, approximately 5% of patients show late normal-tissue damage after radiotherapy with a smaller number having a risk of radiation-induced heart disease. Although the data are conflicting, large studies have shown increased risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) for irradiated patients compared with non-irradiated ones, or for those treated to the left breast or chest wall compared with those treated to the right. Cutaneous telangiectasiae as late normal-tissue injury have so far only been regarded as a cosmetic burden.