Is there any connection between radiation treatments for thyroid disease and breast cancer?
Over the past several years, we have realized that areas of the body heavily radiated for cancer treatment are at risk for developing secondary diseases. Though thyroid cancer and other thyroid problems are relatively uncommon, if they do occur, they tend to occur in young women. One treatment shown to be effective is radioactive iodine for both benign and malignant thyroid disease. The radioactive iodine is transported through thyroid tissue by a protein called the sodium iodine transporter. Some tissues in the body have this particular transport protein, including breast tissues. There is some concern that women who have had thyroid cancer might later develop breast cancer more often than expected, but it’s difficult to determine whether or not it is treatment-related.
