Cardiac late effects after modern 3D-conformal radiotherapy in breast cancer patients: a retrospective cohort study in Germany (ESCaRa)

Radiotherapy (RT) was identified as a risk factor for long-term cardiac effects in breast cancer patients treated until the 1990s. However, modern techniques reduce radiation exposure of the heart, but some exposure remains unavoidable. In a retrospective cohort study, we investigated cardiac mortality and morbidity of breast cancer survivors treated with recent RT in Germany.A total of 11,982 breast cancer patients treated between 1998 and 2008...