[Hodgkin's disease and breast cancer: for which patients is there an association? A series from Institut Bergonié]

Abstract

Objective: Breast cancer is the most frequent secondary tumor for women treated for Hodgkin's disease. It is important to study the risk factors associated to be able to adapt the monitoring of these women.

Patients and methods: This is a retrospective study from Institut Bergonié, a comprehensive French Cancer Center, concerning the women treated for Hodgkin's disease and having developed a breast cancer.

Results: Among 328 women treated for Hodgkin's disease between January 1968 and December 1994, 20 patients developed 25 breast cancers. The average age of the patients during the irradiation was 24 years and the average period of occurrence of the cancer was 19 years. An irradiation of the chest wall and an under-diaphragmatic irradiation in doses of 40Gy are risk factors for the occurrence of breast cancer. A young age, less than 30, in the treatment of Hodgkin's disease tend to be significant.

Discussion and conclusion: This population of women with a high risk of breast cancer thus has to benefit from an appropriate monitoring program, which is what we suggest setting up in the Institut Bergonié.