Abstract
BackgroundPatients with possible radiation induced cancer could be used to study if the rate of tumour cell proliferation is related to latency time. Such a finding could help researcher to find time periods when other initiating risk factors operate.MethodsSeventeen women with breast cancer, with a prior history of radiation treatment towards the parts or the whole breast, exclusive of the primary treatment of a breast cancer were identified. Most women had received treatment for benign disorders as hemangiomas, shoulder pain or skin infections. Three patients had been treated with mantle radiation for Hodgkin's disease prior to developing breast cancer. DNA analysis were performed, on remaining tumour tissue after hormone receptor analysis had been done, measuring the fraction of tumour cells in S-phase. Latency time (time between diagnosis and previous radiation treatment) was calculated and related to the S-phase fraction.ResultsA significant inverse relationship between latency time and S-phase was found (p < 0.0025), indicating that tumours with a high S-phase had a short latency time and vice versa. Among the possible radiation induced tumours, median S-phase was 14%, comparable with a median latency time of 22 years. Very high S-phase values were associated with short latency times (eg a S-phase of 35% would be compatible with a latency time of 7 years).ConclusionOur preliminary results indicate that S-phase is related to latency time and that the median latency time maybe as long as 22 years. Our data may also explain why breast cancer is rare before 30 years of age and if patients are diagnosed at early ages, tumours often show high S-phase values and bad prognostic signs. We postulate that these results from radiation induced breast cancer may be used to extrapolate possible latency times in patients with non radiation induced breast tumours in order to isolate possible time periods for research after other initiating events.
Highlights
Patients with possible radiation induced cancer could be used to study if the rate of tumour cell proliferation is related to latency time
The risk has foremost and first been shown for women therapeutically irradiated at young ages, while peri- and postmenopausal women irradiated for breast cancer in one breast have not conclusively been found to have a higher risk for contralateral breast cancer because of the radiation treatment [10,11]
Long term side effects as secondary tumors have discouraged the use of radiotherapy for non tumour diagnoses. This means that the cohort of women, who previously has been exposed to ionising radiation treatment for benign diseases, is an "out dying" cohort and the time period when it is possible to use the cohort for important biological studies is gradually disappearing
Summary
Patients with possible radiation induced cancer could be used to study if the rate of tumour cell proliferation is related to latency time Such a finding could help researcher to find time periods when other initiating risk factors operate. The risk has foremost and first been shown for women therapeutically irradiated at young ages (childhood, adolescence), while peri- and postmenopausal women irradiated for breast cancer in one breast have not conclusively been found to have a higher risk for contralateral breast cancer because of the radiation treatment [10,11] This could be due to the fact that the breast epithelium at older ages is less sensitive due to involution and less proliferation
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