Risk of primary lung cancer after adjuvant radiotherapy in breast cancer-a large population-based study

Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) for breast cancer (BC) has been associated with an increased risk of later radiation-induced lung cancer (LC). We examined the risk of primary LC in a population-based cohort of 52300 women treated for BC during 1992 to 2012, and 253796 age-matched women without BC. Cumulative incidence of LC was calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method, and the risk of LC after BC treatment was estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression analyses. Women with BC receiving RT had a higher cumulative incidence of LC compared to women with BC not receiving RT and women without BC. This became apparent 5 years after RT and increased with longer follow-up. Women with BC receiving RT had a Hazard ratio of 1.59 (95% confidence interval 1.37-1.84) for LC compared to women without BC. RT techniques that lower the incidental lung doses, e.g breathing adaption techniques, may lower this risk.Peer reviewe

The relationship between radiation doses to coronary arteries and location of coronary stenosis requiring intervention in breast cancer survivors

Abstract Background To assess the relationship between radiation doses to the coronary arteries (CAs) and location of a coronary stenosis that required intervention after three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) for breast cancer (BC). Methods The study population consisted of 182 women treated for BC in Sweden between 1992 and 2012. All women received 3DCRT and subsequently underwent coronary angiography due to a suspected coronary event. CA segments were delineated in the patient’s original planning-CT and radiation doses were recalculated based on the dose distribution of the original radiotherapy (RT) plan. The location of the CA stenosis that required intervention was identified from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry (SCAAR). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between CA radiation doses and risk of a later coronary intervention at this specific location. Results The odds ratio (OR) varied by radiation dose to the mid left anterior descending artery (LAD) (p = 0.005). Women receiving mean doses of 1–5 Gray (Gy) to the mid LAD had an adjusted OR of 0.90 (95% CI 0.47–1.74) for a later coronary intervention compared to women receiving mean doses of 0–1 Gy to the mid LAD. In women receiving mean doses of 5–20 Gy to the mid LAD, an adjusted OR of 1.24 (95% CI 0.52–2.95) was observed, which increased to an OR of 5.23 (95% CI 2.01–13.6) for mean doses over 20 Gy, when compared to women receiving mean doses of 0–1 Gy to the mid LAD. Conclusions In women receiving conventional 3DCRT for BC between 1992 and 2012, radiation doses to the LAD remained high and were associated with an increased requirement of coronary intervention in mid LAD. The results support that the LAD radiation dose should be considered in RT treatment planning and that the dose should be kept as low as possible. Minimising the dose to LAD is expected to diminish the risk of later radiation-induced stenosis

The relationship between radiation doses to coronary arteries and location of coronary stenosis requiring intervention in breast cancer survivors

Abstract Background To assess the relationship between radiation doses to the coronary arteries (CAs) and location of a coronary stenosis that required intervention after three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) for breast cancer (BC). Methods The study population consisted of 182 women treated for BC in Sweden between 1992 and 2012. All women received 3DCRT and subsequently underwent coronary angiography due to a suspected coronary event. CA segments were delineated in the patient’s original planning-CT and radiation doses were recalculated based on the dose distribution of the original radiotherapy (RT) plan. The location of the CA stenosis that required intervention was identified from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry (SCAAR). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between CA radiation doses and risk of a later coronary intervention at this specific location. Results The odds ratio (OR) varied by radiation dose to the mid left anterior descending artery (LAD) (p = 0.005). Women receiving mean doses of 1–5 Gray (Gy) to the mid LAD had an adjusted OR of 0.90 (95% CI 0.47–1.74) for a later coronary intervention compared to women receiving mean doses of 0–1 Gy to the mid LAD. In women receiving mean doses of 5–20 Gy to the mid LAD, an adjusted OR of 1.24 (95% CI 0.52–2.95) was observed, which increased to an OR of 5.23 (95% CI 2.01–13.6) for mean doses over 20 Gy, when compared to women receiving mean doses of 0–1 Gy to the mid LAD. Conclusions In women receiving conventional 3DCRT for BC between 1992 and 2012, radiation doses to the LAD remained high and were associated with an increased requirement of coronary intervention in mid LAD. The results support that the LAD radiation dose should be considered in RT treatment planning and that the dose should be kept as low as possible. Minimising the dose to LAD is expected to diminish the risk of later radiation-induced stenosis

Patients' preferences for subcutaneous trastuzumab versus conventional intravenous infusion for the adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer: final analysis of 488 patients in the international, randomized, two-cohort PrefHer study

PrefHer revealed compelling and consistent patient preference for subcutaneous (s.c.) trastuzumab, regardless of delivery by single-use injection device or hand-held syringe. s.c. trastuzumab was well-tolerated and safety data, including immunogenicity, were consistent with previous reports. No new safety signals were identified compared with the known intravenous trastuzumab profile in early breast cance

Long-term side effects of radiotherapy in breast cancer : studies in ischemic heart disease and lung cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Due to early detection and advances in adjuvant therapies, most women diagnosed with early BC will be cured of their disease, and issues of survivorship are of great importance. Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in BC is well established and significantly reduces local recurrences and BC mortality. Still, it usually involves some accidental irradiation to the heart and lungs, which may lead to long-term side effects, mainly ischemic heart disease (IHD) and lung cancer (LC). The overall aim with this thesis was to study IHD and radiation-induced LC in women receiving RT for BC from the early 1990s until recently. In paper I and paper II a cohort of women (n=182) receiving computed tomography (CT)-based RT (3DCRT) for BC during 1992 to 2012, who subsequently were referred to a coronary angiography and treated for coronary stenosis, was studied. Paper I was a reproducibility study with the aim to examine the inter-observer variation in delineation of the coronary arteries (CAs) in CT scans used for 3DCRT planning. All patients treated at one of the participating RT departments (n=32), were selected from the larger cohort, and the CAs were delineated in the patients’ CT-scans by three oncologists independently, with a validated CT-based heart atlas as guideline. Spatial difference between the different delineations, and variance in radiation dose was calculated. The median distance between the centers of the arteries was 2-8 mm for the right coronary artery (RCA), and 1-4 mm for the left main coronary artery (LMCA) and the left anterior descending artery (LAD). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was derived to quantify the variance in estimated doses. The ICC for mean doses varied from 0.76 to 0.98 for LMCA-LAD, and from 0.73 to 0.92 for RCA, indicating that variation in radiation doses was mainly due to interpatient variation. In conclusion, the study showed high consistency in contouring the CAs in the patients’ planning CTs, in particular the LMCA-LAD. In paper II, the aim was to examine the relationship between radiation dose to the CAs and subsequent coronary stenosis that required a coronary intervention at this location. The CAs were delineated and divided into segments in the 182 patients’ planning-CTs and doses were recalculated based on the dose distribution of the original RT plans. The location of the CA stenosis was identified from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Register (SCAAR). Mean doses to the heart and the LAD were substantially higher in women receiving left-sided RT compared to right-sided RT. Segment-wise analyses were performed to assess the risk of developing a coronary stenosis that required an intervention at a certain radiation dose. Segments receiving radiation doses < 1 Gray (Gy) were used as reference. The main finding was a five-fold increase in risk of a clinically relevant coronary stenosis in the mid LAD at mean doses over 20 Gy, compared to doses of 0-1 Gy (odds ratio 5.23; 95 % CI (confidence interval) 2.01-13.6). There were iv too few events to calculate increase in risk per Gy. Still, the result of this study supports that the radiation dose to the LAD should be considered at RT planning and kept as low as possible. In paper III and IV, the BcBaSe cohort was used to examine risk of IHD, and radiation-induced LC after adjuvant RT for BC. The BCBaSe consists of 68089 women diagnosed with BC during 1992 to 2012, and 340352 age-matched women without BC diagnosis. In paper III, Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate risk of IHD, by comparing women with BC to women without BC diagnosis, and by comparing left-sided BC to right-sided BC. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess cumulative incidence of IHD. Women with BC had a lower risk of IHD compared to women without BC diagnosis at follow-up (hazard ratio (HR) 0.91; 95 % CI 0.88-0.95). Women irradiated for left-sided BC had a higher risk of IHD compared to women irradiated for right-sided BC (HR 1.18; 95 % CI 1.06-1.31). The HRs increased with more extensive lymph node involvement and with addition of systemic therapy. The cumulative IHD incidence was increased in women receiving left-sided RT compared to rightsided RT, starting from the first years after RT and sustained with longer followup. In paper IV, Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to assess cumulative incidence of LC and LC-specific survival. Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate risk of LC after adjuvant RT for BC, comparing women with BC to women without BC diagnosis. Women with BC receiving RT had a higher cumulative incidence of LC compared both to women with BC not receiving RT and women without BC. This became apparent 5 years after RT and increased with longer follow-up. Women with BC receiving RT had a higher risk of LC compared to women without BC diagnosis (HR 2.35; 95 % CI 1.54-3.59). LCspecific survival was significantly higher in women with a prior BC compared to women without a prior BC diagnosis. In paper III and paper IV information on individual dosimetry data was not available. Most women likely received 3DCRT given with tangential fields and were treated before breathing adaption techniques were implemented in Sweden. The results of these studies emphasize the importance of further development and implementing of RT techniques and regimens that lower the cardiac and lung doses. In conclusion, we found that radiation doses to the LAD remained high in women receiving 3DCRT for BC between 1992 and 2012, and were associated with an increased risk of clinically relevant CA stenosis. Delineating the LAD was feasible and the results of these studies support that the LAD radiation dose should be considered in RT treatment planning. The register-based studies confirmed that the risk of IHD was significantly increased in women receiving left-sided RT and that the risk of LC after BC RT was significantly increased in this large cohort of women with BC

Long-term side effects of radiotherapy in breast cancer : studies in ischemic heart disease and lung cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Due to early detection and advances in adjuvant therapies, most women diagnosed with early BC will be cured of their disease, and issues of survivorship are of great importance. Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in BC is well established and significantly reduces local recurrences and BC mortality. Still, it usually involves some accidental irradiation to the heart and lungs, which may lead to long-term side effects, mainly ischemic heart disease (IHD) and lung cancer (LC). The overall aim with this thesis was to study IHD and radiation-induced LC in women receiving RT for BC from the early 1990s until recently. In paper I and paper II a cohort of women (n=182) receiving computed tomography (CT)-based RT (3DCRT) for BC during 1992 to 2012, who subsequently were referred to a coronary angiography and treated for coronary stenosis, was studied. Paper I was a reproducibility study with the aim to examine the inter-observer variation in delineation of the coronary arteries (CAs) in CT scans used for 3DCRT planning. All patients treated at one of the participating RT departments (n=32), were selected from the larger cohort, and the CAs were delineated in the patients’ CT-scans by three oncologists independently, with a validated CT-based heart atlas as guideline. Spatial difference between the different delineations, and variance in radiation dose was calculated. The median distance between the centers of the arteries was 2-8 mm for the right coronary artery (RCA), and 1-4 mm for the left main coronary artery (LMCA) and the left anterior descending artery (LAD). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was derived to quantify the variance in estimated doses. The ICC for mean doses varied from 0.76 to 0.98 for LMCA-LAD, and from 0.73 to 0.92 for RCA, indicating that variation in radiation doses was mainly due to interpatient variation. In conclusion, the study showed high consistency in contouring the CAs in the patients’ planning CTs, in particular the LMCA-LAD. In paper II, the aim was to examine the relationship between radiation dose to the CAs and subsequent coronary stenosis that required a coronary intervention at this location. The CAs were delineated and divided into segments in the 182 patients’ planning-CTs and doses were recalculated based on the dose distribution of the original RT plans. The location of the CA stenosis was identified from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Register (SCAAR). Mean doses to the heart and the LAD were substantially higher in women receiving left-sided RT compared to right-sided RT. Segment-wise analyses were performed to assess the risk of developing a coronary stenosis that required an intervention at a certain radiation dose. Segments receiving radiation doses < 1 Gray (Gy) were used as reference. The main finding was a five-fold increase in risk of a clinically relevant coronary stenosis in the mid LAD at mean doses over 20 Gy, compared to doses of 0-1 Gy (odds ratio 5.23; 95 % CI (confidence interval) 2.01-13.6). There were iv too few events to calculate increase in risk per Gy. Still, the result of this study supports that the radiation dose to the LAD should be considered at RT planning and kept as low as possible. In paper III and IV, the BcBaSe cohort was used to examine risk of IHD, and radiation-induced LC after adjuvant RT for BC. The BCBaSe consists of 68089 women diagnosed with BC during 1992 to 2012, and 340352 age-matched women without BC diagnosis. In paper III, Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate risk of IHD, by comparing women with BC to women without BC diagnosis, and by comparing left-sided BC to right-sided BC. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess cumulative incidence of IHD. Women with BC had a lower risk of IHD compared to women without BC diagnosis at follow-up (hazard ratio (HR) 0.91; 95 % CI 0.88-0.95). Women irradiated for left-sided BC had a higher risk of IHD compared to women irradiated for right-sided BC (HR 1.18; 95 % CI 1.06-1.31). The HRs increased with more extensive lymph node involvement and with addition of systemic therapy. The cumulative IHD incidence was increased in women receiving left-sided RT compared to rightsided RT, starting from the first years after RT and sustained with longer followup. In paper IV, Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to assess cumulative incidence of LC and LC-specific survival. Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate risk of LC after adjuvant RT for BC, comparing women with BC to women without BC diagnosis. Women with BC receiving RT had a higher cumulative incidence of LC compared both to women with BC not receiving RT and women without BC. This became apparent 5 years after RT and increased with longer follow-up. Women with BC receiving RT had a higher risk of LC compared to women without BC diagnosis (HR 2.35; 95 % CI 1.54-3.59). LCspecific survival was significantly higher in women with a prior BC compared to women without a prior BC diagnosis. In paper III and paper IV information on individual dosimetry data was not available. Most women likely received 3DCRT given with tangential fields and were treated before breathing adaption techniques were implemented in Sweden. The results of these studies emphasize the importance of further development and implementing of RT techniques and regimens that lower the cardiac and lung doses. In conclusion, we found that radiation doses to the LAD remained high in women receiving 3DCRT for BC between 1992 and 2012, and were associated with an increased risk of clinically relevant CA stenosis. Delineating the LAD was feasible and the results of these studies support that the LAD radiation dose should be considered in RT treatment planning. The register-based studies confirmed that the risk of IHD was significantly increased in women receiving left-sided RT and that the risk of LC after BC RT was significantly increased in this large cohort of women with BC

Long-term side effects of radiotherapy in breast cancer : studies in ischemic heart disease and lung cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Due to early detection and advances in adjuvant therapies, most women diagnosed with early BC will be cured of their disease, and issues of survivorship are of great importance. Adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in BC is well established and significantly reduces local recurrences and BC mortality. Still, it usually involves some accidental irradiation to the heart and lungs, which may lead to long-term side effects, mainly ischemic heart disease (IHD) and lung cancer (LC). The overall aim with this thesis was to study IHD and radiation-induced LC in women receiving RT for BC from the early 1990s until recently. In paper I and paper II a cohort of women (n=182) receiving computed tomography (CT)-based RT (3DCRT) for BC during 1992 to 2012, who subsequently were referred to a coronary angiography and treated for coronary stenosis, was studied. Paper I was a reproducibility study with the aim to examine the inter-observer variation in delineation of the coronary arteries (CAs) in CT scans used for 3DCRT planning. All patients treated at one of the participating RT departments (n=32), were selected from the larger cohort, and the CAs were delineated in the patients’ CT-scans by three oncologists independently, with a validated CT-based heart atlas as guideline. Spatial difference between the different delineations, and variance in radiation dose was calculated. The median distance between the centers of the arteries was 2-8 mm for the right coronary artery (RCA), and 1-4 mm for the left main coronary artery (LMCA) and the left anterior descending artery (LAD). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was derived to quantify the variance in estimated doses. The ICC for mean doses varied from 0.76 to 0.98 for LMCA-LAD, and from 0.73 to 0.92 for RCA, indicating that variation in radiation doses was mainly due to interpatient variation. In conclusion, the study showed high consistency in contouring the CAs in the patients’ planning CTs, in particular the LMCA-LAD. In paper II, the aim was to examine the relationship between radiation dose to the CAs and subsequent coronary stenosis that required a coronary intervention at this location. The CAs were delineated and divided into segments in the 182 patients’ planning-CTs and doses were recalculated based on the dose distribution of the original RT plans. The location of the CA stenosis was identified from the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Register (SCAAR). Mean doses to the heart and the LAD were substantially higher in women receiving left-sided RT compared to right-sided RT. Segment-wise analyses were performed to assess the risk of developing a coronary stenosis that required an intervention at a certain radiation dose. Segments receiving radiation doses < 1 Gray (Gy) were used as reference. The main finding was a five-fold increase in risk of a clinically relevant coronary stenosis in the mid LAD at mean doses over 20 Gy, compared to doses of 0-1 Gy (odds ratio 5.23; 95 % CI (confidence interval) 2.01-13.6). There were iv too few events to calculate increase in risk per Gy. Still, the result of this study supports that the radiation dose to the LAD should be considered at RT planning and kept as low as possible. In paper III and IV, the BcBaSe cohort was used to examine risk of IHD, and radiation-induced LC after adjuvant RT for BC. The BCBaSe consists of 68089 women diagnosed with BC during 1992 to 2012, and 340352 age-matched women without BC diagnosis. In paper III, Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate risk of IHD, by comparing women with BC to women without BC diagnosis, and by comparing left-sided BC to right-sided BC. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess cumulative incidence of IHD. Women with BC had a lower risk of IHD compared to women without BC diagnosis at follow-up (hazard ratio (HR) 0.91; 95 % CI 0.88-0.95). Women irradiated for left-sided BC had a higher risk of IHD compared to women irradiated for right-sided BC (HR 1.18; 95 % CI 1.06-1.31). The HRs increased with more extensive lymph node involvement and with addition of systemic therapy. The cumulative IHD incidence was increased in women receiving left-sided RT compared to rightsided RT, starting from the first years after RT and sustained with longer followup. In paper IV, Kaplan-Meier analyses were performed to assess cumulative incidence of LC and LC-specific survival. Cox regression analyses were performed to estimate risk of LC after adjuvant RT for BC, comparing women with BC to women without BC diagnosis. Women with BC receiving RT had a higher cumulative incidence of LC compared both to women with BC not receiving RT and women without BC. This became apparent 5 years after RT and increased with longer follow-up. Women with BC receiving RT had a higher risk of LC compared to women without BC diagnosis (HR 2.35; 95 % CI 1.54-3.59). LCspecific survival was significantly higher in women with a prior BC compared to women without a prior BC diagnosis. In paper III and paper IV information on individual dosimetry data was not available. Most women likely received 3DCRT given with tangential fields and were treated before breathing adaption techniques were implemented in Sweden. The results of these studies emphasize the importance of further development and implementing of RT techniques and regimens that lower the cardiac and lung doses. In conclusion, we found that radiation doses to the LAD remained high in women receiving 3DCRT for BC between 1992 and 2012, and were associated with an increased risk of clinically relevant CA stenosis. Delineating the LAD was feasible and the results of these studies support that the LAD radiation dose should be considered in RT treatment planning. The register-based studies confirmed that the risk of IHD was significantly increased in women receiving left-sided RT and that the risk of LC after BC RT was significantly increased in this large cohort of women with BC

Impact of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy on sick leave in women with early-stage breast cancer during a 5-year period : a population-based cohort study

Purpose: To examine the influence of type of oncological treatment on sick leave in women of working age with early-stage breast cancer. Methods: We identified 8870 women aged 30-64 diagnosed with stage I-II breast cancer between 2005 and 2012 in the Breast Cancer Data Base Sweden. Associations between type of oncological treatment (radiotherapy, endocrine therapy, and chemotherapy) and sick leave were estimated by hazard ratios, probabilities, and length of sick leave using multi-state survival analysis. Results: During the first 5 years after diagnosis, women aged 50-54 years at diagnosis receiving chemotherapy spent on average 182 (95% CI 151-218) additional days on sick leave compared with women not receiving chemotherapy, but with otherwise similar characteristics. Correspondingly, women initiating endocrine therapy spent 30 (95% CI 18-44) additional days on sick leave and women receiving post-mastectomy radiotherapy 53 (95% CI 37-69) additional days. At year five, the rate of sick leave was increased in women who had received chemotherapy (HR 1.19, 95% CI 1.11-1.28) or endocrine therapy (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.26). Chemotherapy and endocrine therapy were associated with increased rates of sick leave due to depression or anxiety. Conclusion: Our findings of increased long-term risks of sick leave after oncological treatment for breast cancer warrant attention from caregivers taking part in cancer rehabilitation. In light of the ongoing debate about overtreatment of early-stage breast cancer, our findings point to the importance of properly selecting patients for chemotherapy not only for the medical toxicity but also the possible impact on their livelihood

Influenza vaccination in breast cancer patients during subcutaneous trastuzumab in adjuvant setting

Background Despite the current recommendation for influenza vaccination in cancer patients with active oncological therapy, limited data are available on the efficacy of vaccination in cancer patients receiving targeted therapies. We aimed to investigate the immunogenicity and tolerability of influenza vaccination in breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab in adjuvant setting. Methods A prospective open-label multicenter study was performed including patients with breast cancer during trastuzumab treatment in adjuvant setting and healthy controls. Blood samples were taken before, 4 weeks after, and 12 weeks after a single dose of trivalent influenza vaccine containing inactivated A/California/7/2009 (H1N1) pdm09, A/Hongkong4801/2014 (H3N2), and B/Brisbane/60/2008. Levels of serum antibody titers to hemagglutinin for H1N1 and influenza B strains were measured. Results Twenty breast cancer patients and 37 controls were included in the study. No difference in seroprotection rate between trastuzumab-treated patients and controls was observed for either H1N1 (100% in both groups) or B strain (78.9% vs. 89.2%,pvalue = 0.423). A statistically significant increase in geometric mean titers from baseline was seen in both groups and was evident both 4 weeks and 12 weeks after vaccination. Adverse events in the trastuzumab-treated group were uncommon and mild with only one serious adverse event not related to vaccination. Conclusion Breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab in adjuvant setting seem to benefit from influenza vaccination in terms of immunogenicity without increasing the risk for adverse events. The current data support the recommendation to offer influenza vaccination in breast cancer patients treated with this type of targeted therapy