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Original Article
Volume 334:745-751 March 21, 1996 Number 12
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Breast Cancer and Other Second Neoplasms after Childhood Hodgkin's Disease
Smita Bhatia, M.D., M.P.H., Leslie L. Robison, Ph.D., Odile Oberlin, M.D., Mark Greenberg, M.B., Ch.B., Greta Bunin, Ph.D., Franca Fossati-Bellani, M.D., and Anna T. Meadows, M.D.

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ABSTRACT

Background Patients who survive Hodgkin's disease are at increased risk for second neoplasms. As survival times increase, solid tumors are emerging as a serious long-term complication.

Methods The Late Effects Study Group followed a cohort of 1380 children with Hodgkin's disease to determine the incidence of second neoplasms and the risk factors associated with them.

Results In this cohort, there were 88 second neoplasms as compared with 4.4 expected in the general population (standardized incidence ratio, 18.1; 95 percent confidence interval, 14.3 to 22.3). The estimated actuarial incidence of any second neoplasm 15 years after the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease was 7.0 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 5.2 to 8.8 percent); the incidence of solid tumors was 3.9 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 2.3 to 5.5 percent). Breast cancer was the most common solid tumor (standardized incidence ratio, 75.3; 95 percent confidence interval, 44.9 to 118.4), with an estimated actuarial incidence in women that approached 35 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 17.4 to 52.6 percent) by 40 years of age. Older age (10 to 16 vs. <10 years) at the time of radiation treatment (relative risk, 1.9) and a higher dose (2000 to 4000 vs. <2000 cGy) of radiation (relative risk, 5.9) were associated with significantly increased risk of breast cancer. The estimated actuarial incidence of leukemia reached a plateau of 2.8 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 0.8 to 4.8 percent) 14 years after diagnosis. Treatment with alkylating agents, older age at the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease, recurrence of Hodgkin's disease, and a late stage of disease at diagnosis were risk factors for leukemia.

Conclusions The risk of solid tumors, especially breast cancer, is high among women who were treated with radiation for childhood Hodgkin's disease. Systematic screening for breast cancer could be important in the health care of such women.


Source Information

From the Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (S.B., L.L.R.); the Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France (O.O.); the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (M.G.); the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia (G.B., A.T.M.); and the National Tumor Institute, Milan, Italy (F.F.-B.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Robison at the Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of Minnesota, Box 422 UMHC, Minneapolis, MN 55455.

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Related Letters:

Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Hodgkin's Disease
Mirer F. E., Ekert H., Travis L. B., Curtis R. E., Boice J. D., Bhatia S., Robison L. L., Meadows A. T., Donaldson S. S., Hancock S. L.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1996; 335:352-355, Aug 1, 1996. Correspondence

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