Do Breast Cancer Therapies Increase the Risk of Heart-Related Deaths?

Breast cancer survival rates have improved over time, but the adverse outcomes of treatment to the heart remain a concern. A U.S.-based registry study shows that although treatments for breast cancer can cause damage to the heart, the patients who undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy are not likely to die of heart disease. Regular screenings and proper risk management for heart issues in patients with breast cancer can reduce the risk of heart diseases.

According to clinical trials conducted before, both radiotherapy and chemotherapy are associated with the risk of heart disease as a possible side effect. However, after the analysis of about 350,000 breast cancer patients relative to the population across the U.S., the comparison showed that long-term risk of death from heart disease is not high compared with the average population of women.

This concluded that:

• Proper risk management in hospitals, if taken into account when choosing adequate therapy, can reduce the probability of heart attack. Assessing the heart health of the patient regularly throughout the course of the treatment will allow early detection of any potential adverse effects and help oncologists to adjust the therapy and include heart treatment immediately.

• The heart-specific mortality rate of breast cancer patients who are treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy was lower compared with the general population. It is a relief for affected patients that if they undergo proper medical care and survive breast cancer, they will not have to worry about deadly heart diseases than other individuals of the same age without breast cancer.

• Improved screening measures and effective methods of treatment can lower the risk of succumbing to heart disease considerably.

However, the results above have to be carefully interpreted because of the characteristics of diagnosis at a younger age, higher grading, higher stage, and the molecular subtype status. HER2-positive breast cancer patients who receive targeted chemotherapy had a lower risk of heart-specific mortality rate relative to HER2 negative patients.

Location: Decatur, TX 76234, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Does Cancer Treatment Lead to Involuntary Weight Loss?

Involuntary weight loss is evident in most cancer patients. Unfortunately, cancer treatment and symptoms lead to weight loss . Also, nausea, difficulty in swallowing due to radiation therapy, mouth sores because of chemotherapy, and growing tumors all lead to involuntary weight loss.   Involuntary weight loss is common in pancreatic cancers, gastrointestinal cancers, and advanced cancers.   Low-Calorie Intake   The body releases tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which leads to a decline in appetite in cancer patients. Cancer patients have trouble swallowing, and the food develops a metallic taste. Therefore, they do not eat as well, and this affects their weight.   The body uses lots of energy to fight cancer. Considering that the patient doesn’t eat well and uses massive energy to fight the disease, it explains the involuntary weight loss. The high metabolism, pain, and low food intake contribute to unintended weight loss.   Also, patients experience anxiety, depression, and mood
Read more

How to Cope with Fear of Recurrence after Breast Cancer Treatment

The fear of your breast cancer recurring after treatment can impact yours and your loved ones' quality of life. Breakthroughs in breast cancer screening, early diagnosis, and treatment have helped to increase patient survival rates across the world. But still, survivors continue to worry about their disease recurrence. An interdisciplinary team of researchers are examining how the fear of breast cancer recurrence can affect the overall well-being and relationships between patients and their loved ones. The research focuses on three health behaviors influenced by breast cancer recurrence fears and how they can also protect the patient from any future recurrence. The behaviors include quality sleep, physical activity, and taking of therapeutic hormonal medicines. The team is also going to study the sleep quality and physical activity of the patient’s spouse since they are also affected when their loved ones have cancer. According to one of the researchers, the fea
Read more

Understanding Radiology and Radiation Therapy

Both radiation therapy and radiology are essential components of most cancer treatments and diagnoses. The similarity in names can get a patient confused by what each one means or does for them. Cancer care requires a multidisciplinary system with various procedures to address the unique needs of each patient. Radiation therapy and radiology use distinct technologies and techniques to serve different purposes in cancer care as explained below: • Radiology – In cancer care, radiology is a procedure that utilizes medical imaging to diagnose and treat various forms of cancer. One or more imaging tests can be performed on a patient to identify the precise location of the cancer cells or confirm a cancer diagnosis and determine the appropriate treatment plan. Radiologic technologists or radiologists are experts who conduct radiology tests, read and interpret the results. Interventional radiologists can diagnose and treat cancer using minimally invasive procedures such as image-guid
Read more