> Personal History of Cancer (including breast cancer, DCIS, Hodgkin’s disease and others)
Personal history of breast cancer
Breast cancer survivors have an increased risk of getting a new breast cancer compared to those who have never had breast cancer. A new cancer is called a second primary breast cancer. Unlike a recurrent tumor, which is the return of the first breast cancer, a second primary tumor is a new cancer unrelated to the first. Women treated with a lumpectomy (also called breast conserving surgery) for their first breast cancer can get a second cancer in either breast. Women treated with mastectomy for their first breast cancer can only (except in rare cases) get a new cancer in the other breast. After either type of treatment, risk of a second breast cancer increases over time. Close to five percent of women get a second breast cancer eight years after their initial diagnoses and about 12 percent 20 years later [63,64]. Women whose first breast cancer was hormone receptor-negative may have a higher risk of a second primary breast cancer compared to those whose first breast cancer was hormone receptor-positive [65].
Personal history of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a non-invasive breast cancer where many abnormal cells grow within the ducts of the breast (see the structure of the breast). DCIS often develops into invasive cancer. The chances are high enough that DCIS is almost always treated with surgery to remove the abnormal cells. Surgery may be followed by radiation therapy and hormone therapy.
DCIS survivors have an increased risk of invasive cancer in either breast, as well as an increased risk of DCIS in the opposite breast [66,67].
Find out more about DCIS.
Personal history of Hodgkin’s disease or other cancers
Women who have a history of some other cancers also have an increased risk of breast cancer. For example, women who had Hodgkin's disease in childhood or early adulthood are about 15 to 25 times more likely to get breast cancer than women who never had Hodgkin's disease [56,68]. This risk appears to be greater among women treated with radiation therapy for their Hodgkin's compared to those treated with chemotherapy alone [56,68]. There is also some evidence that Hodgkin's disease itself may be related to breast cancer risk [54]. Women who are treated for Hodgkin's at later ages (even with radiation) do not appear to have an increased risk of breast cancer [68].
Other cancers have also been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. These include ovarian, uterine, colon and thyroid cancers, as well as melanoma [69]. The exact reasons for these links aren't known, though it is likely related to some shared genetic factor [69]. Learn about inherited genetic mutations.
Updated 11/09/09
