by Moemen Khalifa, Maher Soliman, Abbas Omar, Mohamed Abouegylah, Amr Munir Ameen, Yomna Mahmoud Mohamad, Waleed Arafat Radiotherapy (RT) is used quite often among breast cancer patients, and because these patients now live longer than they used to, long-term treatment-related adverse effects, such as hypothyroidism, are becoming increasingly relevant. Radiation-induced hypothyroidism is a late side effect of radiation to the thyroid gland, which could develop months to years after radiotherapy.
However, there are insufficient data on hypothyroidism in patients with breast cancer who receive locoregional RT, which usually affects a portion of the thyroid gland. In this prospective study, we aimed to evaluate the association between radiation dose to the thyroid gland and early thyroid dysfunction in breast cancer patients treated with hypofractionated locoregional radiotherapy, and to establish potential planning objectives that could help in sparing the thyroid gland.
Our study included 109 women who received 3-D conformal locoregional breast radiotherapy. These patients had normal thyroid function prior to start of radiotherapy.
Patients had follow-up thyroid function tests 6 months after finishing radiotherapy.
PLOS ONE (Medicine) published a clinical update in Research Highlights on 18 Jun 2026.
The item focuses on Thyroid V40 as a potential early predictor of hypothyroidism following hypofractionated locoregional breast radiotherapy.
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