Research

Clinical outcome of breast cancer occurring after treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma: case-control analysis

Mohamed A Alm El-Din^1,4 , Kevin S Hughes² , Rita A Raad¹ , Saveli I Goldberg¹ , Alan C Aisenberg³ , Andrzej Niemierko¹ and Alphonse G Taghian¹

¹  Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA

²  Department of Surgical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA

³  Department of Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA

⁴  Department of Radiation Oncology, Tanta University Hospitals, Tanta Faculty of Medicine, Tanta, Egypt

author email corresponding author email

Radiation Oncology 2009, 4:19doi:10.1186/1748-717X-4-19

Published:	30 June 2009

Abstract

Background

To evaluate diagnosis, management and outcome of breast cancer (BC) occurring after irradiation for Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL).

Methods

39 cases of BC in 28 HL survivors were retrospectively reviewed. 21 patients were included in a case-control analysis.

Results

The median age at diagnosis of HL and BC was 25.3 and 45.3 years, respectively. The median interval to develop BC was 16.1 years. Eleven women (39.2%) had bilateral disease. Mode of detection of the index breast cancers was by mammographic screening in 17 patients (60.7%), palpable lump in 8 patients (28.6%), clinical examination in two patients (7.1%), and unknown in one patient (3.6%). Case-control analysis showed that histological features and prognosis of BC after HL were similar to those of primary BC, however, for BC after HL, mastectomy was the predominant surgery (P = .001) and adjuvant radiotherapy and anthracycline-based chemotherapy were less frequently used as compared to primary BC (P < .001 and .003, respectively).

Conclusion

The previous history of HL does not appear to be a poor prognostic factor for BC occurring thereafter.