Background and Purpose: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in
Croatian women. Due to improved diagnostic and treatment options women with breast cancer now live longer, which increases their risk of developing new primary malignancies. The aim of this study was to establish incidence of new primary non-breast malignancies after breast cancer diagnosis.
Material and Methods: In the study cohort that included 215 consecutive patients treated for early breast cancer at University Hospital Center Zagreb, Croatia, 12 patients (5.58%) have developed new primary non-breast malignancy within nearly ten year follow-up.
Results: Although the majority of studies found gynecological cancers to be the most common cancer site of new primary non-breast malignancies after breast cancer diagnosis, in our study most patients developed colorectal cancer.
Conclusion: This is particularly interesting if you take into account that
after breast cancer colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer in Croatian women. In order to stratify the risk for the development of new primary tumors it is necessary to further investigate the interaction of various factors that are thought to influence the evolvement of tumors
