Risk of coronary artery disease after adjuvant radiotherapy in 29,662 early breast cancer patients: A population-based Danish Breast Cancer Group study

Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) for early breast cancer (BC) reduces the risk of recurrence and improves over-all survival. However, thoracic RT may cause some incidental RT dose to the heart with subsequent risk of heart disease. During 2000-2010, CT-based RT planning was gradually introduced. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk of cardiac events in left-sided compared with right-sided BC patients treated during a non-CT-based (1999-2007) vs a CT-based period (2008-2016). Material and methods: Information on BC and cardiac events among Danish women was obtained from population-based medical registers. Patients diagnosed with BC during 1999-2016, were included. A car-diac event was defined as coronary artery disease or severe valvular heart disease. Results: Among 29,662 patients, 22,056 received RT. For those irradiated during the non-CT-based period, the 10-year cumulative risk of cardiac event was 1.7% (95% CI 1.4-2.0) at median follow-up of 11.1 years. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) for cardiac event in left-sided vs right-sided patients was 1.44 (1.07-1.94) anda trend towards worse outcome was seen within the first 10 years after RT and approached statistical significance with longer follow-up. Among patients irradiated during the CT-based period, the 10-year cumulative risk of cardiac event was 2.1% (1.8-2.4) at median 6.8 years follow-up. The IRR for cardiac event in left-sided vs right-sided patients was 0.90 (0.69-1.16) and no trend towards worse outcome within the first 10 years was observed. Conclusion: This study confirmed a higher risk of cardiac events in left-sided vs right-sided BC patients irradiated during a non-CT-based period. For patients irradiated during a CT-based period, no increased risk of cardiac events in left-sided vs right-sided patients was observed within the first 10 years after RT, whilst information on cardiac events beyond 10 years after RT was limited. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.