Long-term risks of secondary cancer for various whole and partial breast irradiation techniques.

Introduction: For early stage breast cancer patients, non-breast cancer mortality including secondary cancers and cardiac events can overshadow the benefit of adjuvant radiotherapy. This study evaluates the excess risk of secondary cancer for various breast radiotherapy techniques including accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI).

Methods: Secondary cancers Lifetime Attributable Risks (LAR) were calculated using a modified BEIR-VII formalism to account for the specific survival of breast cancer patients.