Chest radiation to treat childhood kidney cancer can apparently boost a person's risk of acquiring breast cancer later in life.

Wilms tumor is an uncommon type of childhood kidney cancer normally treated with surgery and chemotherapy. When the disease spread to the lungs, patients receive low doses of radiation treatments to the entire chest.

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Patients are likely to suffer side effects from chest radiation treatments such as nausea and diarrhea. But a new study shows a more serious risk than these conditions.

Dr. Norman Breslow, PhD, from the University of Washington and colleagues from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle used records to assess almost 2,500 women that had received treatment for Wilms tumor during childhood until they reached at least 15 years of age.

The researchers found that over 20 percent of female Wilms tumor survivors receiving chest radiation treatments developed breast cancer by the age of 40 years. Those that survived the tumor without taking the chest radiation treatment only had a 0.3 percent risk of breast cancer.

In addition, researchers also recorded a 4 percent risk of breast cancer among female Wilms tumor survivors without chest radiation treatment.

The rates of the female Wilms tumor survivors developing breast cancer after taking chest radiation, abdominal radiation and no radiation treatments were unexpectedly 30, six and two times higher than those expected among women of the same age in the general population.

Although researchers believe the findings are accurate, they noted the study was limited by the relatively small number of participants with breast cancer. The fact that breast cancer screening was probably more intense for those participants who had received chest radiation was also considered.

The findings merely suggest the possibility of acquiring breast cancer among female Wilms tumor survivors calls for early screening and changes to currently used guidelines, noted Dr. Breslow. 

Tagsbreast cancer, Wilms Tumor, Chest Radiation Treatment, Childhood Kidney Cancer, University of Washington, Cancer, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center