title: Radiation-induced breast cancer in women with Hodgkin's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study is to analyze the main clinical and pathologic characteristics of radiation-induced breast carcinomas (BC) following treatment for Hodgkin's disease (HD) and to identify the risk factors for their induction. To create a mathematical model for the prediction of expected age at which a BC might develop based on the age at treatment for HD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine cases of women with BC that developed after treatment for HD in puberty or adolescence were analyzed retrospectively. The median age at initiation of treatment for HD was 12.9 years (9-21). The median age at diagnosis of the second malignancy - breast carcinoma was 32.4 years (22.9-39).
  
  
  RESULTS
  THE DISTRIBUTION OF PATIENTS ACCORDING TO THE CLINICAL T STAGE OF BREAST CANCER WAS AS FOLLOWS: 11 patients with T1 stage BC (28%), 22 with T2 stage (56%) and 6 with stage T3 (16%). Prevalent were tumors localized in the lateral breast quadrants. The observed 5 year survival was 95%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk of solid tumors, especially breast cancer, is high among women with HD disease who were treated with radiotherapy in their childhood. In this article, we propose a specific mathematical age formula which could be used as predictive equation when the age of the treatment for HD is in the range between 9 and 21 years. Systematic screening for breast cancer in these patients would be significantly important for their health and could improve their survival.
authors.affiliation: National Hospital of Oncology, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aleksandrova
authors.affiliation: National Hospital of Oncology, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Iglika
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mihaylova
authors.affiliation: National Hospital of Oncology, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Sonya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sergieva
authors.affiliation: National Hospital of Oncology, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Vesselina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parvanova
authors.affiliation: National Hospital of Oncology, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Doroteya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ivanova
keywords: Breast cancer; Hodgkin's disease; Risk factors