P&S Journal: Spring 1994, Vol.14, No.2 Smoking, Radiation
Therapy: Dangerous Mix for Breast Cancer In a preliminary
finding that may have treatment implications for breast cancer
patients who smoke, P&S researchers have found a relationship
between the use of radiation therapy for breast cancer and an
increased risk of lung cancer in non-smokers and a dramatically
increased risk for smokers. The findings were published in a
March issue of Cancer. The study, conducted by Dr. Alfred I.
Neugut, associate professor of clinical medicine and of public
health, used data from the Connecticut Tumor Registry on women
who received radiation therapy before 1980 when doses of
radiation were higher than they are today. Dr. Neugut and his
colleagues found the use of radiation therapy for women with
breast cancer raised their risk of lung cancer almost three
times compared with breast cancer patients who did not receive
radiation therapy. Breast cancer patients who smoked and
received radiation therapy had more than 30 times