According to a Dutch study, young women who receive radiation after surgery for breast cancer are more likely to develop a new tumor in the opposite or contralateral breast and this risk is even higher in the women who have a significant family history of breast cancer.

The study will be published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology current issue. In this study, the researchers examined some fairly recent radiation techniques and some experts have pointed out these techniques have been improved and refined with the passage of time.

Dr. Jay Brooks, who is chairman of hematology/oncology at Ochsner Health System in Baton Rouge, La, says about this study: “Though it’s quite interesting, over the last 25 years radiation techniques have dramatically changed and many patients were treated with much older techniques.”

When three or more members of the family had a history of breast cancer, the risk of contralateral breast cancer reaches at the highest point. It indicates that some women in the current study might have BRCAI or 2 genetic mutations and the said mutations weren’t examined in the study.

“Now, we can identify those women who may not be breast-conservation candidates,” Brooks added.