Radiotherapy is commonly given to women with breast cancer and has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer reoccurrence and death. However, it inevitably involves exposure of normal tissue and organs within the thorax, including heart. How radiation therapy for breast cancer affects the heart is discussed in this article. Radiotherapy has been used to treat breast cancer since 1940’s. About 50% women diagnosed with breast cancer receive radiation therapy and it has been shown to be very effective.
The mechanism behind this therapy is that the ionizing radiation causes DNA damage by introducing either single-strand or double-strand breaks in the DNA. The fundamental principle in using radiation as a therapy is that the DNA repair mechanisms are superior in normal cells than cancer cells. Presently, in breast cancer radiotherapy, the dosage of radiation varies for every woman. Hence,…
